At the time of HNA Group’s bankruptcy and reorganization, its biggest weight-loss action-the sale of its Ingram Micro International to a US investment institution-is causing market controversy.

HNA Technology (600751.SH) acquired Ingram Micro for approximately US$6 billion a few years ago, but at the end of last year decided to sell this company with annual revenue of US$49 billion. According to HNA Technology’s plan, Ingram Micro’s sale and delivery will be completed at the end of June this year. However, this plan is now full of variables.

A few days ago, HNA Technology suddenly decided to postpone the extraordinary general meeting of shareholders originally scheduled to be held on June 14 to June 24. Whether Ingram Micro’s sale plan can be passed by a vote at the general meeting of shareholders is the key to determining the success of the transaction.

Morgan Stanley Finance noted that opposition has been brewing before the convening of this shareholder meeting. The resolution of the board of directors disclosed by HNA Technology on May 31 showed that the relevant proposal to sell Ingram Micro International was voted against by a director when the board of directors passed a vote. This director is Zhu Yingfeng, the representative of HNA Technology’s second largest shareholder Guohua Life Insurance. .

Guohua Life Insurance is also a joint investor in HNA Technology’s acquisition of Ingram Micro International, holding more than 30% of Ingram Micro’s equity. Zhu Yingfeng believes that Ingram Micro has “continued and stable growth in profits in recent years, which is a rare and valuable high-quality asset” and listed companies should “further seek buyers with high-quality quotations and better safeguard the interests of listed companies.”

The implication is that Guohua Life Insurance feels that Ingram Micro is now being “sold at a low price.” The sale of Ingram Micro International is valued at 5.891 billion yuan, slightly lower than the purchase price that year, but Ingram Micro’s net profit in 2020 has more than tripled compared to a few years ago.

Small and medium investors of HNA Technology also continue to express their opposition in online communities such as “Stock Bar”. In addition to their dissatisfaction with the price of Ingram Micro, they also have concerns about the future of HNA Technology. Ingram Micro is the entire source of HNA Technology’s revenue. After the sale, the listed company will become a “shelf company”. Although major shareholders promised to inject new assets within this year, they experienced the injection of poor quality Yanjing Hotel The miscarriage turmoil, combined with the current situation of HNA Group, is not unreasonable for the concerns of small and medium investors.

HNA currently holds nearly 30% of HNA Technology, while Guohua Life holds 14.33%. Other shareholders hold very scattered shares. This also means that if the two parties engage in a game at the level of the general meeting of shareholders, whether small and medium investors “group together” will be the biggest variable affecting Ingram Micro’s sales transaction.

Ambition

Ten years ago, the HNA Group, which had just exceeded 100 billion in annual revenue, took advantage of the global economic downturn and frantically bought overseas assets. One of the goals was to reach 600 billion in revenue in 2016, and another goal. It will be in the top 100 of the world’s top 500 in 2020.

By 2016, HNA Group has successfully entered the world’s top 500, but the revenue scale is about 200 billion yuan, which is still far from the ambitious goal. In December of that year, HNA Group under Wang Jian’s presidency acquired Ingram Micro International, the world’s largest IT distribution and supply chain service provider, through its listed company HNA Technology (then Tianhai Investment) for US$5.982 billion (approximately 41.3 billion yuan).

The predecessor of HNA Technology was Tianjin Shipping, a listed company engaged in shipping. In 2008, the HNA Department became the master, and in 2015 it was renamed Tianhai Investment. The shipping business of Tianhai Investment has been sluggish for a long time and is small in scale. After completing a fixed increase of 12 billion yuan at the end of 2014, it was almost a “cash company”. The funds were originally planned to acquire shipping assets such as oil tankers and LNG ships, but the shipping industry was in a downturn. , Tianhai Investment turned to seek “industrial upgrading” and acquired Ingram Micro International in 2016.

Ingram Micro has a global supply chain and channel network, and has strategic synergies with the logistics supply chain and HNA cargo that HNA was trying to develop at that time. Ingram Micro’s annual revenue reached more than 40 billion U.S. dollars. This transaction helped HNA Group’s revenue hit 600 billion yuan. The following year’s Fortune 500 ranking also soared to 170.

After Ingram Micro was acquired by HNA Technology, it accounted for more than half of HNA Group’s revenue for a long time. If the main aviation business of HNA Group is airframes, Bohai Leasing, with the largest assets, and HNA Technology, with the largest revenue, are the two “flanks” that support HNA’s take-off.

HNA also demonstrated brilliant financial skills in the acquisition of Ingram Micro. Among the 12 billion yuan fixed increase at the end of 2014, HNA Logistics (later renamed HNA Technology Group) invested 3.6 billion yuan, leveraging the 8.4 billion yuan of external funds from four institutions-Guohua Life Insurance participated in this fixed amount of 2.5 billion yuan. Increased and became the second largest shareholder of a listed company. The 8.4 billion yuan invested by the external fixed increase agency was originally planned to be used to buy oil tankers and ships, and later became the main fund for the acquisition of Ingram Micro.

The investment structure of HNA Technology’s acquisition of Ingram Micro International shows that HNA Technology used its own funds of 8.7 billion yuan (that is, the remaining funds in 2014), Guohua Life Insurance invested 4 billion yuan, and the rest were bank loans (7-year period). The scale is US$4.27 billion. This means that the HNA Department used almost all other people’s money in this blockbuster acquisition of nearly 6 billion U.S. dollars.

The calculation of HNA Technology’s acquisition was to use Ingram Micro’s profits to cover interest expenses. At that time, it was estimated that the annual interest expenses would be between US$128 million and US$171 million. In fact, Ingram Micro’s business performance has been stable since then, and profits and dividends have increased year by year. A total of US$880 million has been distributed from 2017 to 2020. In the same period, the actual interest expenses of M&A loans paid by HNA Technology totaled US$770 million.

However, HNA Group soon fell into a liquidity crisis, and there were problems in repaying the principal of the syndicated loan. At the end of 2017, it was overdue when the first maturity loan principal of USD 400 million was repaid, and the payment was completed several months later. As of the end of last year, HNA Technology’s outstanding M&A loan principal amounted to US$3.68 billion, and in March 2018, another US$500 million in convertible notes was issued for “borrowing the new to repay the old”, bringing the total outstanding liability principal to US$4.18 billion. . Among them, the principal amount of the syndicated loan of USD 1.35 billion was extended to May 5 this year, and the renewal is still proceeding after the outstanding payment.

In this case, HNA Technology can only choose to sell Ingram Micro to relieve debt pressure.

Ingram Micro

After the outbreak of the liquidity crisis of HNA Group, the overseas assets it had acquired in the past have been sold off one after another. In December last year, under the pressure of HNA Group’s difficulties to resolve risks and HNA Technology’s own difficulties in repaying the syndicated loan, HNA Technology launched a plan to sell Ingram Micro International at a valuation of US$5.826 billion. The purchaser was Platinum Capital, a US private equity investment institution. (Platinum Equity).

On May 31 this year, HNA Technology officially disclosed the “Major Asset Sale Draft”, adjusting Ingram Micro’s valuation to US$5.891 billion. The draft revealed that assuming July 2 as the delivery date, the purchaser’s cash payment consideration is estimated to be approximately US$1.588 billion.

In the transaction plan for the sale of Ingram Micro International, HNA Technology also designed a lock-box mechanism and an additional payment consideration mechanism. The cash payment consideration on the delivery day was further calculated on the basis of US$5.9 billion for value adjustments before delivery. Mechanism, if Ingram Micro’s adjusted EBITDA for the 2021-2023 fiscal year is between US$1.215 billion and US$135 million, HNA Technology can obtain up to US$325 million in additional payment consideration.

But in fact, HNA Technology’s confidence in obtaining additional consideration is not enough. HNA Technology initially predicts Ingram Micro’s adjusted EBITDA for 2021-2023 to be US$1.204 billion, US$1.211 billion, and US$1.225 billion. According to the predicted performance, HNA Technology can only get very little additional consideration.

On the surface, the sale price of HNA is not much different from the purchase price. However, if the five-year interest cost is taken into account, the actual loss between HNA’s purchase and sale is huge, which is even more unacceptable for the co-investor Guohua Life Insurance.

Regardless of the cost of capital, only the estimated cash recovered of US$1.588 billion (equivalent to 10.36 billion yuan) after the sale is calculated, the Shanghai Biaoji partnership consisting of HNA Technology and Guohua Life Insurance will lose more than 2 billion yuan in principal. Shanghai Standard Base Partnership holds 100% equity of Tianhai Logistics and then holds Ingram Micro International, while Guohua Life Insurance holds 31.496% of the LP share of Shanghai Standard Base.

In addition, when Guohua Life Insurance acquired HNA Technology in 2014, the fixed price increase was 5.98 yuan per share. It was hoped that through the acquisition of Ingram Micro International, the performance and stock price of listed companies would increase, but now HNA Technology’s latest share price is 3.43 yuan per share. Shares, Guohua Life’s 2.5 billion investment principal has also lost 42.7%.

Under this circumstance, the selling price of Ingram Micro became the focus of questions from Guohua Life Insurance and small and medium investors.

Controversy over “cheap sale”

Has Ingram Micro been “selled” at all?

As the world’s largest IT distributor, Ingram Micro has 189 logistics centers and maintenance service centers around the world, with an annual shipment volume of more than 1.5 billion pieces and operations in more than 160 countries. Ingram Micro’s IT distribution business covers most of the IT product market segments, and provides downstream customers with inventory management and supply chain financial services. In addition, it is also involved in mobile devices and life cycle services, e-commerce supply chain solutions, and cloud services. . In 2018, Ingram Micro and Microsoft jointly launched the cloud business platform CloudBlue, which provides cloud operation services to more than 150 largest service providers in the world, and has become the world’s largest cloud business platform.

HNA Technology mentioned in the reason for sale that “in recent years, the global IT distribution industry has intensified competition and increased concentration. With the changes in the global shipment pattern of IT products and the 2020 epidemic, the industry has shown certain volatility.” HNA Technology did not It is mentioned that Ingram Micro’s profitability has improved significantly after entering cloud services in recent years.

As early as the acquisition of Ingram Micro International, HNA Technology had already foreseen the boost to Ingram Micro’s profitability by the cloud service business, and pointed out at the shareholders meeting in May 2017 that the leading IT supply chain company in the industry, For example, Ingram Micro, Arrow Electronics, Avnet, Synergy, etc., have entered the cloud service market through acquisitions and other means, “which can improve profitability and avoid financial pressure caused by business expansion.”

In terms of performance, Ingram Micro’s revenue scale and profitability have been stable in recent years, and its operating status has remained stable. From 2017 to 2020, Ingram Micro’s revenue was 46.675 billion, 50.437 billion, 47.197 billion and 49.12 billion US dollars, and net profit was 199 million US dollars, 352 million US dollars, 505 million US dollars, and 644 million US dollars.

It can be seen that benefiting from the outstanding performance of the cloud service business, Ingram Micro’s profit level has increased rapidly in the past two years, especially when cloud services are more widely used after the epidemic, Ingram Micro has demonstrated high-quality assets. Background color.

It should be pointed out that Ingram Micro is the entire source of HNA Technology’s revenue, but the profit performance of the two is not consistent. In 2020, Ingram Micro’s net profit hit a record high, but HNA Technology suffered a huge loss of 9.788 billion yuan. The main reason was that listed companies provided joint guarantees for HNA Group and other related parties, which resulted in a provision of 5.02 billion yuan in losses and the provision of Ingram Micro’s goodwill. The impairment affects the profit of 6.029 billion yuan.

In the first quarter of this year, boosted by the positive performance of Ingram Micro International, HNA Technology achieved a net profit of 620 million yuan, setting the best performance in recent years.

Ingram Micro’s performance continues to improve, and has improved significantly from the time of the acquisition. Why did HNA Technology sell it at a valuation loss of US$5.891 billion?

The reason given by HNA Technology is that when a listed company acquired Ingram Micro International in 2016, the transaction price was not based on the evaluation results, but was negotiated and determined after comprehensive consideration of various factors. In addition, the valuation of Ingram Micro International is reasonable. After comparing Arrow Electronics and similar companies in the same industry, according to the EV/EBITDA valuation method, the average valuation multiple of comparable companies is 6.6 times and the median value is 6.2 times. , Ingram Micro is 6.3 times.

However, opposition voices also pointed out that In Micro International and its peers Arrow Electronics (ARRW) and Synergy (SNX), the net profits of the three companies last year were US$644 million, US$584 million, and 529 million (as of 2020/11). /30), the revenue scale and profit level of the latter two are lower than Ingram Micro’s, with P/E ratios of 12 times and 14 times respectively, but Ingram Micro’s P/E ratio for sales valuation is only 9 times. If valued at a price-to-earnings ratio of 13 times, Ingram Micro is worth about 8.4 billion U.S. dollars. The current market value of Arrow and Synergy is 8.9 billion and 6.7 billion U.S. dollars, respectively.

Outsiders believe that HNA sells Ingram Micro at the current price, mainly eager to resolve debt pressure and financial risks, and promote the bankruptcy and reorganization of HNA Group, but it is unfair to the co-investors and small and medium shareholders of HNA Technology. After the board of directors voted against the transaction plan, Guohua Life Insurance appealed to HNA to continue to contact buyers with higher bids based on market principles.

It is worth mentioning that Platinum Capital, the acquirer of Ingram Micro, disclosed that the total consideration of the transaction was US$7.2 billion, which is not consistent with the transaction value disclosed by HNA Technology. Platinum Capital also disclosed that it will provide US$4.05 billion in funding for the acquisition. At the same time, JP Morgan, Bank of America, Morgan Stanley and other syndicates pledged to provide US$3.5 billion in loans to pay for the transaction consideration, and also pledged to provide US$3.5 billion in circulation. loan.

Endgame

Many small and medium shareholders are opposed to this sale because they are worried that HNA Technology will become a shell company in the future or be injected with low-quality assets.

HNA Group initially had a great strategic vision for HNA Technology, but after the acquisition of Ingram Micro International, the subsequent layout has been weak. In 2018, HNA Technology put out a plan of 7.5 billion yuan to acquire Dangdang. However, it will inevitably fail in the end.

As of the end of 2020, HNA Technology’s total assets are 121.6 billion yuan, and Ingram Micro’s total assets are 112.1 billion yuan, accounting for 92.17% of the total assets of listed companies. Ingram Micro’s 2020 revenue will account for 100% of HNA Technology’s revenue.

HNA Technology pointed out in the sale plan that after the IT supply chain business is placed, the listed company will relieve debt pressure and financial burden, concentrate resources on strategic and business transformation, and enhance the company’s ability to continue operating.

Just before the sale of Ingram Micro International, on December 4, 2020, HNA Technology decided to increase its assets such as 91.6% equity in Tianhai Shipping and 90% equity in Zhuhai Beiyang Shipping, plus 2 billion yuan in capital increase, and through the Haichuang Baichuan Fund with HNA Group 100% of the shares held by Yanjing Hotel will be replaced.

The net assets of Yanjing Hotel are -870 million yuan, with an estimated value of 2.13 billion yuan and an appreciation of up to 3 billion yuan. In addition, there are three cases of Yanjing Hotel using its own houses and land use rights to provide HNA Aviation Group and related party HNA Tourism Group with a total amount of 2 billion yuan. Beiyin Financial Leasing has seized the corresponding assets in 2019 , So it’s not a “clean” asset.

After being subject to regulatory inquiries and external doubts, on May 19, 2021, HNA Technology announced that it would cancel the proposal to submit the asset replacement proposal to the first extraordinary general meeting of shareholders for consideration.

HNA Technology promises to continue to inject new assets. In the major asset sale draft disclosed by HNA Technology on May 31, HNA Technology and the directors, supervisors and senior executives of listed companies except Zhu Yingfeng promised that the listed company will complete the asset placement by December 31, 2021. HNA Technology Group, Grand China Logistics, and HNA Group promised to assist listed companies in completing asset placement.

However, given the current situation of the HNA system, whether there is still the ability to inject high-quality and clean assets into HNA Technology is a big question mark. On January 30, 2021, HNA Group was filed for bankruptcy and reorganization; on March 15, HNA Technology’s controlling shareholder HNA Technology Group, NPC Xinhua Logistics and related shareholder Shanghai Shangrong Supply Chain were ruled by the court for reorganization. A total of 29.45% of the shares of listed companies are held.

After the bankruptcy and reorganization of HNA Group, it is introducing strategic investors for its three core businesses (aviation, airport and commercial retail), corresponding to HNA Holdings (ST HNA 600221.SH) and HNA Foundation (ST Basis 600515.SH). And supply and marketing big set (*ST big set 000564.SZ) three listed companies. This is also the highest quality asset of HNA Group.

It is worth mentioning that when HNA Technology acquired Ingram Micro in 2016, the shipping industry was in a downturn. However, due to the impact of the epidemic on global inventories last year, the shipping industry is re-entering the business cycle. However, the shipping business of HNA Technology is currently very weak. Only in the first half of 2021, it purchased two 176,000-ton Cape-type bulk carriers (145.5 million yuan each), with a total capacity of only more than 300,000 tons.

After the sale of Ingram Micro, how to revive the main business of HNA Technology will obviously be another big problem.

On April 15th, Great Wall Motor conducted an online real-life test of the Lemon Hybrid DHT, and this was the first time it was tested on a real car. The tested model was the WEY Macchiato that will be unveiled at the Shanghai Auto Show. However, if you think that this is just a test for the purpose of saving fuel, you are quite wrong. In fact, the biggest advantage of the lemon hybrid DHT covers four words: “fast, smooth, quiet, and province”. There is a corresponding technical paving behind each word. So can actual driving really be done? here we come to find out. What is the sense of pushing back under the word “fast”? In the acceleration test representing the word “fast”, the experience of sitting in the co-pilot, I love placing a balloon between the back and the seat. When the test-driving car is cruising steadily, the balloon stays still, and when the test-driving car accelerates rapidly, the balloon is instantly squeezed. This is due to the strong “back force”, which shows the acceleration performance of the lemon hybrid DHT. It’s outstanding. The Lemon Hybrid DHT consists of a high-efficiency hybrid dedicated engine, a highly integrated dual-motor hybrid gearbox, and a 135kW three-in-one two-speed electric drive rear axle, forming a powerful three-engine/four-engine power system, bringing super power. The HEV two-wheel drive system has a maximum power of 180kW, and the PHEV two-wheel drive system has a total power of 240kW, which is superior to the same level. The PHEV+P4 structure front and rear axle motors can output power at the same time, and the maximum total system power can reach 320kW. The intelligent four-wheel drive system of this architecture has a strong climbing ability, such as 60%-65% maximum climbing degree when dry asphalt pavement, and 15%-18% maximum climbing degree when in snow. Huang Zhenyang, head of the development of Lemon Hybrid DHT, introduced in detail: “In the initial stage, electric drive is used. Compared with the engine, the motor can release the maximum torque at the moment of starting. There is no traditional gearbox and the transmission efficiency is very high. Therefore, the vehicle responds. It is very fast and has a strong sense of pushing back. When it comes to medium and high speed road conditions, the system adopts engine direct drive. If a power request is received, it can achieve an effect similar to a downshift of a fuel vehicle. Not only does it switch from economic gear to power gear, but also Motors can participate in the output and form a parallel mode, so that the acceleration ability can be improved to a higher level.” How do you feel about driving and riding under the word “Shun”? In the test representing the word “Shun”, two cups were placed on the sunroof of the test-driving car and filled with a certain amount of juice. A series of operations such as starting, accelerating, decelerating, etc. of the test-driving car in the field will involve switching between oil and electricity and energy recovery. Observe whether the water cup will fall and the shaking of the juice. Through the real-time video captured by the GoPro on the roof of the car, it can be seen that the juice in the water glass does not even shake significantly, and it is very stable. When the final test is completed, the water glass is still in its original position. Experiencers said that its ride comfort is comparable to that of high-speed trains, and there is no feeling of frustration, turbulence, or drag while sitting in the car. If you do not watch the energy flow of the central control screen, you can hardly feel the switch between gasoline and electricity. Huang Zhenyang said, “The reason why the lemon hybrid DHT is excellent in terms of ride comfort is that it has a set of modes and energy management and torque control strategies with completely independent intellectual property rights, including intelligent switching between series and direct drive modes, and shifting without power interruption. , Intelligent clutch control, motor torque compensation matching and IGBT junction temperature estimation, etc.”. And because of this, the test drive can be “silky smooth” in the process of acceleration, fuel-electricity switching, and energy recovery. Not only does the water glass not fall, but more importantly, it improves the comfort of the drivers and passengers in the car. From a technical point of view, the current hybrid market has several hybrid strategy products such as power split (motor speed regulation, speed coupling), single-speed hybrid (rigid coupling), series range extension, and oil-electric split. Lemon hybrid DHT It is a two-speed hybrid. Among them, the first three representative products all emphasize the economic performance of the system, but the power split and single-speed hybrid strategy are insufficient in dynamics. The power performance of the series-extended range depends entirely on the motor power. The lemon hybrid DHT has more direct-drive gears and more complex control strategies, both in terms of performance and economy. Therefore, a balance between performance and efficiency is formed. The power split hybrid is biased toward engine-driven vehicles, and the electric motor is more assisted, assisted during acceleration, assisted during starting, and so on. Single-speed hybrid is a hybrid system that is close to a pure electric drive mode, so it is closer to an upgraded range-extended hybrid system. The lemon hybrid DHT combines the advantages of pure electricity and hybrid through a complex control strategy, so that the system will always remain in the high efficiency range under the premise of smooth and strong. Two worlds inside and outside the car under the word “Jing”? In the NVH test which represents the word “quiet”, a speaker is placed in the test drive site, music is played on the spot, a noisy environment is simulated, and environmental data is recorded with a decibel meter. The test-driving car made a circle around the audio, and at the same time, the data in the car was recorded with a decibel meter. In the case of more than 90dB outside the car, the members in the car talk and communicate normally and keep floating in the range of 50-70dB. The overall performance is excellent, which can create a pure electric driving experience for users. The experiencer said, “There are some hybrid models that shake significantly when the engine is started, and there are obvious noises when the motor is working. But today’s experience left a deep impression on me. The above situation is hardly noticeable. The NVH optimized Very in place.” It is understood that for NVH, the hybrid dedicated 1.5L/1.5T engine used in the Lemon Hybrid DHT has been re-optimized for its overall NVH, including jitter, noise, etc., to minimize it, combined with the high-end sound insulation of the vehicle itself. Materials and other technologies to improve NVH greatly reduce the noise introduced into the car. Specifically, the HEV architecture uses a 1.8kWh battery, which increases the battery capacity by more than 30% compared to the traditional hybrid system. The PHEV architecture is equipped with the world’s largest PHEV battery with a power of 45kWh, which can be charged 80% in 30 minutes, and it also provides an 8-year/150,000 km long warranty. Based on this, users can use pure electric drive in more scenarios, and can also fully reduce the number of engine starts and stops, reduce startup energy consumption, and greatly improve NVH performance. What’s more worth mentioning is that by further optimizing the connection between oil and electricity, it is guaranteed to be more “insensitive” during power switching, bringing ultimate comfort. How about the actual measurement results of fuel consumption under the word “province”? In the last fuel consumption test representing the word “province”, the mileage and fuel consumption data of the test-driving car were reset to zero, and it was in a power feeding state. The 5km actual test was carried out on the test site, including starting, accelerating, braking, turning, etc. The average speed is 15km/h, and the final apparent fuel consumption is 5.1L/100km. In-car experiencers said, “The average speed is 15km/h. Such a scenario is the weakness of fuel vehicles, and the fuel consumption of 5.1L/100km is an unattainable figure. Thanks to the blessing of the hybrid, the Lemon Hybrid DHT has achieved it. This kind of performance is remarkable, and it has obvious advantages compared with the fuel consumption of 8-9L per hundred kilometers of many similar fuel products. Specifically, the Lemon Hybrid DHT is equipped with a high-efficiency hybrid dedicated engine and TM (drive motor)/GM (generator) dual motors. The overall efficiency of the power system exceeds 50%, bringing optimal economy in the full speed range and all scenarios. , And carry out flexible power distribution for different roads. Its core working principle is to always make the engine work at the highest efficiency point, or to maximize the efficiency of the engine, so as to achieve the best overall efficiency. The working mode of “Lemon Hybrid DHT” is divided into the following points: EV mode energy flow In the EV working mode, the TM motor can directly drive the wheels, keeping the engine in the high efficiency area at all times, and maximizing the power performance. Series mode energy flow The series mode is suitable for urban driving conditions. The engine drives the GM to generate electricity, and the TM motor directly drives the wheels. In the series hybrid mode, the fuel saving rate can reach 35%-50%. Parallel mode energy flow High-speed driving conditions are more suitable for parallel mode. It is driven by the engine to directly drive the wheels. The GM motor and TM motor are responsible for adjusting the engine operating point and auxiliary driving the wheels. This direct drive operating point of the engine directly falls in the high-efficiency area, and the fuel consumption is lower. The series mode can be reduced by 10%~15%. “In low-speed road conditions, the pure electric or series mode is used to directly drive the wheels through the motor to avoid the problem of low engine efficiency. At medium and high-speed road conditions, switch to engine direct drive, which can save 10% compared to the series mode- 15%.” Huang Zhenyang said: “And the direct drive of the engine has economic gear and power gear. The economic gear is used in steady-state cruise. The power gear is switched when accelerating, and the output is assisted by the motor to avoid the transient load of the engine. The perfect balance between power and fuel consumption.” to sum up: Through the above test, we can see that the lemon hybrid DHT technology has perfectly combined comfortable driving experience with strong power output, bringing users the most perfect driving experience in a variety of scenarios. However, from a deeper perspective, the lemon hybrid DHT is a brand new hybrid technology that Great Wall Motors breaks the technology monopoly of joint venture brands and is completely independent of design, research and development, and has completely independent intellectual property rights. It also represents Great Wall Motors’ compliance with the national low-carbon environmental protection strategy and entry into the hybrid technology. The determination and strength of the market. It is believed that with its excellent technical standards, Great Wall Motors Lemon Hybrid DHT will surely become a leader in the hybrid market and contribute an indelible important force to the development of China’s hybrid technology. As the Shanghai Auto Show is about to open, users can also taste the first WEY Macchiato equipped with the lemon hybrid DHT hybrid technology at close range, and further experience the outstanding charm of the lemon hybrid DHT.

Next, they climbed the rope down to the fourth floor, threading through an open window into the JP Morgan gem and mineral gallery. They are about to commit the biggest jewelry heist in New York history. Police find fingerprints after the theft of precious stones worth 3 million USD in 1964. Photo: Getty Images One is Jack Roland Murphy, a 27-year-old world-class surfer and violinist. This mastermind is commonly known as the surfer Murphy. His partner is Allan Kuhn, 26, of Miami. The watchman was 29-year-old Roger Clark, sitting in a sleek white Cadillac parked on the street, keeping in touch via walkie-talkie. Using glass cutters and rubber bands, the two thieves carefully sawed three glass cabinets so that the sound of the saw matched the sound of the plane flying in the sky to avoid attracting the attention of 8 security officers tasked with protecting the large museum big. The thieves took their time, spent a few hours in the lobby, and that night, they escaped with 22 gems worth $3 million in today’s prices. Among them, there are three rare gems: the Star of India, a 563.35 carat stone the size of a golf ball; The 100.32-carat DeLong Star ruby ​​and 116.75-carat dark purple Midnight sapphire – one of the largest black sapphires in the world. After collecting the loot, the thieves calmly passed a few policemen in the small park around the museum, then disappeared into the night. Murphy was sober enough to say hello to the officer. Then the thieves entered a jazz club, sipped cocktails. A veteran criminal who committed a series of burglaries in Miami, Murphy didn’t even bother to change his clothes. Indian Star. Photo: Wikipedia This elaborate heist started with stolen gems. The past of the Indian Star is always shrouded in mystery. This is a rounded pale green gemstone, 2 billion years old, 5cm in diameter, with a unique pattern like a 6-point star on the top and bottom, first discovered in Sri Lanka in the 1700s but forever 200 years later history will be marked. In the late 19th century, American philanthropist and financier JP Morgan hired gem collector George Kunz to buy a set of gems. The Indian star was among the jewels in the collection that Mr. Morgan later donated to the museum. There is so much lost information about many things in museums and especially in private collections, says Erin L. Thompson, a professor of art criminology at John Jay University in New York. Their owners did not specify their previous owners. No one knew about the journey of the Star of India and its owners until it was in the hands of George Kunz. Another mystery of this stone is why it is called the Star of India, and not the Star of Ceylon, the old name for Sri Lanka. DeLong Star ruby ​​red purple with 6 lines, originating from Myanmar, at that time was considered the most perfect ruby ​​in the world. An American named Edith Haggin DeLong donated the gem to the museum after buying it from collector Martin Leo Ehrmann in 1937 for the equivalent of $390,000 today. Ehrmann travels the world looking for rare and expensive jewelry, but the origins of the pieces in his collection are still unknown. There is no information on the sale and valuation of the DeLong Star ruby. US agents free Murphy (centre) after he was arrested in Miami. Photo: Getty Images The morning after the theft, James Oliver, the director of the American Museum of Natural History, was pulling his teeth when the museum staff discovered the theft. New York’s 20th police squad arrived at the scene just after 10 a.m. when informed. They found fingerprints and opened an investigation. The museum immediately closed. At first, investigators discovered that the thieves acted very carefully. When handling the box of large gems, they applied tape strips all over the circle of glass to be cut to prevent the glass from breaking and falling. Then they beat with a rubber mallet. With the next two boxes, they change their ways, just breaking the box and getting the jewels. The scene of the theft. Photo: Getty Images Officials say the thieves are unprofessional when estimating the value of the gems. They had forsaken a precious box of sapphires in favor of diamonds and emeralds of much less value. In addition, stolen rare gems cannot be sold because they are too popular. A plainclothes police officer tracked down staff at the nearby Cambridge House hotel, saying that the trio of thieves had recently thrown a grand party in an expensive room. After obtaining a search warrant and raiding the room, detectives discovered drugs, museum plans and books about gems. As police were searching the room, Roger Clark entered, saying that Murphy and Kuhn had flown to Miami. These two men were arrested two days after the theft and taken to New York. However, because there were no witnesses and no physical evidence, the case became groundless. Kuhn and Murphy were soon released on meager bail. District Attorney Marurice Nadjari started looking for other crimes committed by these guys to get a reason to detain them or at least get them to pay higher bail. Searching through old files, he found evidence to imprison two thieves. Kuhn when he was arrested in Miami in 1964. Photo: Getty Images While flying back to New York for the trial, Kuhn and Murphy were accused of strangling a woman to steal jewelry from a Miami hotel a few months earlier. That woman turned out to be the famous Hungarian actress Eva Gabor. The guarantee is now up to 100,000 USD. Gabor later did not sue, but the incident was enough for these two men to sit behind bars and be forced to negotiate. Sitting in jail, Kuhn told Mr. Nadjari that he could bring back the gems if he let him go to Miami alone. Not believing, on January 5, 1965, Nadjari and three plainclothes staff were on the same flight as Kuhn. After a series of phone calls and countless delays, they received instructions to find the locker keys at the Northeast Miami Trailways bus stop. Not long after arriving at the bus stop, a detective named Richard Maine returned with two soggy bags containing nine gems. These two bags were stuffed in Kuhn’s boat in Biscayne Bay. The gems are on display again at the museum, this time better protected. However, the DeLong Star ruby ​​is still missing. The thieves confessed to the crime and spent about two years at the Rikers Island prison in New York. The following September, a third party personally negotiated with a holder of the DeLong Star. Billionaire John D MacArthur paid a ransom of $25,000, or $200,000 at today’s prices, and the stone was recovered from a phone booth in Florida. Later, a man named Duncan Pearson was convicted in connection with the crime of hiding the ruby. However, several other gems were never found. For example, the Eagle diamond, a gem that was first discovered by a well digger in 1876 near the town of Eagle in Wisconsin, USA. It is thought that this diamond was cut into many small pieces, making the natural masterpiece forever disappear. Murphy did not change after serving his prison term in 1967. His crimes went beyond theft, becoming more cruel and violent. In 1969, he was found guilty of murdering two women who were accomplices in the theft of stocks and bonds worth $500,000 (equivalent to $4 million today). During a boat trip in Florida, a female accomplice threatened to accuse Murphy and his accomplice Jack Griffith if they did not share a larger amount. Both women were then beaten to death with batons, and their bodies were thrown into the sea. Murphy was convicted again and spent 17 years in Florida State Prison. While in prison, he began to minister with other inmates, preaching about atonement. In 1986, he was released and spent the rest of his life preaching to prisoners.

On April 12, three million Indians gathered on the banks of the Ganges River. They gathered in the ancient city of Haridwar, in the state of Uttarakhand, to take a dip in the sacred river. Devoted and full of Hindu devotees crowded the streets. The Naga Sadhus, the “saints” of the Hindu ascetic practice, pose for a photo on the banks of the Ganges. Photo: AFP. This is one of the holiest days of the Kumbh Mela festival. This festival is one of the most important occasions for Hindus, attracting millions of pilgrims every year. On the same day, India recorded 169,000 new Covid-19 cases and surpassed Brazil to become the second hardest-hit country by the pandemic, according to Guardian . Ignore danger In the weeks before that, a second deadly wave of Covid-19 swept across the whole of India. However, calls to cancel the festival were rejected. By April 15, more than 2,000 festivalgoers had tested positive for the virus. As of the end of the festival on April 28, more than 9 million people have soaked in the water of the Ganges River. The actual number of Kumbh Mela participants is yet to be announced. Millions of pilgrims return home without being tested or quarantined. Several states have begun belated efforts to trace and isolate returnees from Kumbh Mela. In Madhya Pradesh, 789 pilgrims have been placed in quarantine. Of those, 118 tested positive. The Naga Sandhus attend a procession on the banks of the Ganges. Photo: Reuters. T Jacob John, former head of virology at the Indian Council of Medical Research, said: “The pilgrims in the states carry with them mutated strains of the virus and spread the disease everywhere.” . Ashish Jha, dean of the School of Public Health at Brown University, said that Kumbh Mela could be “the largest super-contagious event in the history of the Covid-19 pandemic”. Devotees attend night prayers on the banks of the Ganges River at the Kumbh Mela festival, April 13. Photo: Reuters. During the festival period, the state of Uttarakhand recorded a 1,800% increase in the number of virus positive cases. Most of the infections are related to the Kumbh Mela festival. No one escapes Covid-19 Thakur Puran Singh, a senior member of the BJP, does not believe he has contracted Covid-19 at Kumbh Mela. At dawn on April 9, he and his family drove nearly 600 km to Haridwar to attend the Kumbh Mela. Over the next five days, his family took several dips in the Ganges River. On April 16, a day after returning home, Mr. Singh started showing symptoms of Covid-19. At first, he refused to believe that he had Covid-19. However, on April 21, his condition worsened. When he was taken to a local hospital, doctors suspected he had Covid-19 because his lungs had been damaged. His son did not believe him and took him to another hospital that he considered more reputable. Thakur Puran Singh and family participate in Kumbh Mela festival. Photo: The Guardian. “I couldn’t believe the doctors and their diagnosis. I didn’t even wear a mask when I took my dad to the hospital,” said Dinesh Singh Thakur. However, Mr. Singh died en route. Eight days later, his brother, Balwant Singh, also died with symptoms of Covid-19. “Even after Mr Singh’s death, the family kept a secret that they had come to Kumbh Mela,” said Dr. Shameema, regional medical director. After returning, they also participated in four weddings. Dr Iqbal Malik, another health official, confirmed that four members of Mr Singh’s family have tested positive. More than two dozen other people who were in close contact with Singh’s family members also had similar results. Mr. Singh’s body was cremated according to the procedures of the victim who died from Covid-19. However, his family still does not believe that he died from the virus. “There are 11 people in my family, why is it that only my father is gone? My father’s death was not due to Covid-19. Fate has called him,” Thakur said. Regret Gopal Singh’s family and neighbors were touched to see him return to his hometown from Kumbh Mela. The people of Madhi Chaubisa village came out to greet him and hoped for blessings. Contrary to the joy of the villagers, he was still terrified. Singh joined about 100 others from the surrounding villages on a sacred pilgrimage to Kumbh Mela. On the way home, he saw everyone falling ill. Many passengers said they had high fever and diarrhea. However, their vehicle did not stop at any of the Covid-19 testing sites. Devotees await the Naga Sadhus at the Kumbh Mela festival. Photo: AP. “I have been to Kumbh Mela twice before but I have never seen anything like this. A lot of people have been infected,” he said. Mr Singh insisted on being tested for Covid-19 despite a local doctor dismissing his concerns. Four days later, as expected, he was positive for SARS-CoV-2. Before that, he had contact with many people in the village. Three other people traveling with Mr Singh also tested positive. Ragu Raj Dangi, head of the village, said: “After everyone returned from Kumbh Mela, the number of people with Covid-19 has increased to more than 30 cases in just a few days. There are still a lot of other people who have symptoms but haven’t been tested.” A few days later, Mamta Bhai, Mr. Singh’s neighbour, developed a fever. She was treated by a local doctor. Although she was later taken to the intensive care unit, she still did not survive. Singh feels guilty: “Stubbornness and ignorance pushed us into a disaster. I feel terrible. Because of fanatics like me, other people get the virus.” Mr. Pragyaanant Giri, a Hindu monk, also went to Kumbh Mela. Like many at the monastery, he believes Covid-19 is a conspiracy. After a month of attending the festival, Mr. Giri developed symptoms of a sore throat and high fever. His companions advised him to rest. The police officer asks a person to leave after taking a dip in the water of the Ganges. Photo: Reuters. After that, his condition worsened. After two weeks of intensive care, Mr. Giri passed away. Despite the rules for patients dying from Covid-19, his body was buried at the monastery. People in the monastery said: “More than 10 people who came into contact with Mr Giri have developed Covid-19 symptoms and some have been hospitalized. However, most members of the monastery are not tested.” Even after Giri’s death, the belief that Covid-19 is not real still pervades the monastery. Swami Harigiri, the head of the monastery, thinks this is a plot against the Hindus. “We drink cow urine. Covid-19 will not affect us. Giri’s death caused by Covid-19 is fake news,” he said. In a small village in the eastern Indian state of Bihar, a group of five women came to the festival on an 11-day trip. After returning, two people died. Although the local health department announced the victims had tested negative for Covid-19, family members told a different story. Awadh Kishore Tiwari, grandson of Bindu Devi, one of the two dead women, said: “She fell ill the day she returned home. The very next day she was gone forever. My mother also tested positive after coming into contact with her.” Ms Devi’s brother-in-law, Awadhesh Chauhan, said he advised her not to attend the Kumbh Mela because of Covid-19. However, she laughed off: “Nothing will happen to me, don’t worry”. Bringing the ashes of unclaimed Covid-19 victims to the Ganges River Indian volunteers collect ashes from crematoriums to organize funerals for Covid-19 victims in Haridwar city.

The Russian Ministry of Defense is equipped with the most powerful pistol in the world. (Photo: RIA) Earlier, the Central Research Institute of Precision Mechanics of Russia (TsNIITOCHMASH part of the state-owned high-tech corporation Rostec) developed the most powerful ammunition model in the world for a 9 mm self-loading pistol. This ammunition for the Udav series of semi-automatic pistols has the ability to penetrate level 2 bulletproof armor and at a greater range than similar ammunition in the world. In addition to superior armor penetration, thanks to the special warhead design, the Udav bullet also has no explosion and no flash of the muzzle. According to Izvestia, the plan to purchase Udav pistols by the Russian Ministry of Defense includes two main versions: a mass-use version for the army with code number 6P72 and a specialized version with code number 6P72-1. The second version of the gun has a silencer and a laser targeting device. Lasers can work even in daylight, they emit infrared rays that are not visible to the naked eye. However, it is possible to see clearly if using the special force’s night sight. For both versions to order, delivery will begin this year and be completed by November 10, 2023. The estimated cost to buy this gun is $5,214 million. The main feature of the Udav is the use of some new ammunition with more powerful firepower, caliber 9×21 mm and with a range of up to 50-100 m. Like other military weapons, the 6P72 is designed and tested in temperatures ranging from minus 50 degrees Celsius to positive 50 degrees Celsius. Even a dusty atmosphere will not affect this gun. . According to General Director of the Central Research Institute of Precision Mechanics of Russia Albert Bakov, the secret of TsNIITOCHMASH experts lies in the fact that each Udav bullet carries an armor-piercing bullet core. Despite skepticism during the design process, it was later proven that the design of this cartridge did not affect the accuracy of each shot. According to the Rostec press center, the development of TsNIITOCHMASH has been recognized as an invention and has been officially patented by the Intellectual Property Office of the Russian Federation. TsNIITOCHMASH is one of the leading Russian weapons developers. The history of this research and production enterprise dates back to 1944. Over the past 75 years, TsNIITOCHMASH experts have produced more than 150 models of small-caliber guns, artillery, anti-tank weapons and ammunition. The most well-known products are the Ratnhik combat kit, underwater guns – SPP-1 pistols and APS automatic guns, as well as specialized weapons: SR-1M and PSS pistols, submachine guns SR-2 and SR -3M compact size. It is also possible to mention the anti-tank missile system “Kornet”, self-propelled artillery “Nona” and “Lotos”. Within the framework of the Army-2019 forum, Rostec Corporation introduced the 9 mm Udav self-loading pistol, developed at TsNIITOCHMASH. Some pictures of Udav pistols: (Photo: Rostec)

Photo: FT The dog-shaped coin that started as a joke has grown in value by 1,000% this year and has received the support of many celebrities, such as Tesla founder Elon Musk. . Photo: FT It is not clear how much money Aziz McMahon will gain after investing in Dogecoin. However, The Guardian says that this number is significant. For her part, Aziz McMahon declined to comment. Goldman Sachs said that Aziz McMahon was not involved in the bank’s crypto business. Photo: Bloomberg Last week, Goldman Sachs opened a Bitcoin investment division. This is in contrast to 2018 when the bank said it had decided not to enter the cryptocurrency market. Photo: Bloomberg Created by two software engineers named Billy Markus and Jackson Palmer, Dogecoin was intended to be a faster and happier alternative to bitcoin. Since its inception, Dogecoin has a growing community of users. In mid-April, Dogecoin reached the top 10 of the largest cryptocurrencies in the world.

If the decline in performance in 2020 is caused by the epidemic, it is a bit confusing that its performance in the first quarter of 2021 is still declining when the performance base for the first quarter of 2020 is already low enough. On the day after the results were announced, 360’s stock price also gapped and opened lower, eventually closing down 5.65%, and the stock price hit a new low since its successful backdoor listing. As one of the Internet giants in the past, the 360 ​​in the mobile Internet era is clearly unaccustomed. In terms of operations, since 2016, 360 has repeatedly missed the vent, and finally defeated in the mobile Internet era; in the capital market, its stock price has continued to fall in the past three and a half years, and now its stock price is only at its peak. About 20% of the total, participating investors suffered heavy losses; in terms of word of mouth, 360 has also become the spokesperson of the bundled installation of “Family Bucket” from the eulogized Internet changer in the past. What happened to the former cybersecurity leader? The performance dropped again and again, the stock price has plummeted 79% in three and a half years “I thought that the performance of the first quarter of 2020 was already the worst, but I did not expect the performance of the first quarter of 2021 to be worse!” This is a message from an investor in the stock bar after the announcement of the 360 ​​results yesterday. On April 21, 360 announced its 2020 annual report and quarterly report for the first quarter of 2021.In addition to the unsuspecting performance decline in 2020, what people did not expect is that with the performance of the first quarter of 2020 already such a low base, the performance of three or six zero in the first quarter of 2021 will actually be stolen. Regarding the reasons for the decline in the first quarter of 2021, as it was not stated in the first quarter report, we dare not guess. However, judging from the data in recent quarters, its performance is not very good. Since the best single-quarter performance was achieved in the second quarter of 2019, in the next seven quarters, the net profit growth rate in five quarters of 360 and 60 was negative, and the trend of performance decline was quite obvious. Under the influence of the performance, the share price of 360 has also been “declining steadily” and has continued to decline since the beginning of 2018.Today, its stock price is only 13.18 yuan, which has fallen by 79.12% from the high point on February 28, 2018, and its market value has evaporated by 380 billion yuan. Transformation attempts continue, but advertising is still inseparable Recently, there has been news on the Internet that the 360 ​​may try the auto business. According to a report from the AI ​​Finance and Economics Agency, on the opening day of the 2021 Shanghai International Auto Show, the founder of 360 Company, Hongt Zhou, appeared at the Nezha Auto booth and plans to cooperate with Nezha Auto to build cars; however, the 360 ​​will soon make a move. In response, he said that he had no comment on the news of the car. According to previous media reports, 360 has been planning to build a car for some time, and will put the car building on the agenda in early 2020. Currently, the project team has about 10 people. An insider of Nezha Automobile revealed that the two sides have been in contact for two months. Zhou Hongt once took his team to the Nezha Automobile Factory to investigate and experience Nezha automobile products. Of course, these are all market rumors. As for whether 360 will end up building cars in the future, we don’t know. However, many Internet companies such as Huawei, Xiaomi, Baidu and others have participated in this car war. In fact, it is not surprising that the next car is built. In fact, this is not the first time Three Six Zero has tried to develop a new business. From cooperating with Coolpad and LeTV to develop mobile phone business in 2016, then transforming to make games in 2018, and then transforming to bet on government-enterprise network security business in 2020, although there are no good results in the end, it is not difficult to see that in fact, in recent years Over the past few years, 360 has been trying to transform. However, as of December 2020, although there have been many attempts and bets on the security of the transformation of government and enterprises in 2020, the most profitable business of 360 is still in “advertising.” According to the analysis of the main business composition, for the whole year of 2020, 360’s advertising revenue will be 7.512 billion, accounting for 64.68% of the total revenue, and the profit ratio will reach 72.69%; followed by smart hardware and the Internet. Value-added services, revenues were 2.142 billion and 1.134 billion, accounting for 18.44% and 9.77% of revenue, and 5.43% and 13.44% of profit. And its government-enterprise network security business that it wants to transform bets has revenue of only 808 million, accounting for only 6.96% of 2020 revenue. Poor reputation, it’s a bit difficult for 360 to break the game In addition to declining performance, plummeting stock prices, and frequent failures in transformation, there is also the issue of its reputation. At this year’s 3.15 party, CCTV exposed 360 Search’s illegal placement of false medical advertisements. In the screenshots exposed by CCTV, a 360 search platform was used to search for Chengdu Second People’s Hospital for short “City Second Hospital”. The results were all advertisements for other hospitals including Chengdu Zongnan Hospital. In fact, this is not the first time that 360 has had a word-of-mouth problem. In recent years, with the development of Internet technology, the network environment has become more and more secure, and the 360, which has network security business as its core, has undoubtedly been hit hard. As security protection software is used less and less frequently, 360’s presence is getting lower and lower, but once the 360’s software is installed, it will continue to pop up advertisements, which arouses users’ disgust; , Many netizens even jokingly called him “the spokesperson of the whole family bucket”: once the 360 ​​software is installed, a lot of software will be bound to it, and it is easy to install and difficult to uninstall. As an Internet company, users are undoubtedly the most precious resource. And 360’s rogue advertisements and bundled downloads have undoubtedly left a bad impression on users. Under such a background, it may be difficult for 360 to break through the current predicament.

Accordingly, when accessing the domain name phimmoizz.net, users only receive a message in English with the content “Error 522”. Starting from the morning of April 24, when accessing the domain name phimmoizz.net, users only receive a message in English with the content “Error 522.” (Screenshots) Thought the pirated movie websitemoizz.net was officially gone, in the afternoon of the same day, some netizens discovered a pirated movie website with the domain name phimmoiizz.net. However, in the afternoon of April 25, the Vietnamese online community continued to “get up” when the domain name phimmoiizz.net once again “evaporated” from the Internet. On the same afternoon on April 24, some netizens discovered a pirated movie website with the domain name phimmoiizz.net. (Screenshots) However, up to the present time, the domain name phimmoiizz.net has “evaporated” from the Internet. (Screenshots) With phimmoizz.net and phimoiizz.net taking turns “flying color”, many netizens believe that the future of Vietnam’s biggest pirated film website may be coming to an end. However, this pirated movie website has continuously changed its domain name to bypass the authorities, from phimmoi.net to phimmoiz.net and to phimmoizz.net. Therefore, it is still not possible to confirm that phimmoi.net will not continue to “proliferate” domain names to operate again in the near future. On June 18, 2020, the website phimmoi.net was blocked by network operators in Vietnam. However, many people believe that the above jobs only solve the tip of the problem. On June 18, 2020, the website phimmoi.net was blocked by network operators in Vietnam. (Photo: SAOstar) Accordingly, in recent years, creating a pirated movie website is said to be quite easy and does not cost too much. Owners of these pirated movie websites will buy unlimited cloud storage accounts at very cheap prices from cloud storage services such as Facebook, Google, Fshare, Openload … to store and project. movies that are not copyrighted. Along with that, buying domain names or international hosting is currently very easy and the cost is extremely cheap. So, in case a domain name is blocked, the website owner only needs to activate the new domain name and link it to his own movie store. Therefore, blocking the IP of a pirated movie website only solves the tip of the problem because immediately another website “pops up”. In the last few years, creating a pirated movie website has been said to be quite easy and does not cost too much. (Photo: Internet) The obvious proof is that after being blocked for a day, phimmoi.net resumes operation with a new domain name – phimmoiz.net. After that, phimmoiz.net continued to be blocked but also quickly returned to the domain name phimmoizz.net. According to many experts, if you want to solve the problem of pirated movies, you must first solve the tip of the problem – the consciousness of Internet users. If you want to solve the problem of pirated movies, you must first solve the tip of the problem – the awareness of Internet users. (Artwork: ICT.News) Currently, a large part of Vietnamese people still do not have the habit of paying money to watch movies and listen to music on the Internet, so “invisible” is helping to support pirated movie websites to have more “land to live.”

Image source: Visual China

Reporter | Wu Yangyu Reporter | Wu Yangyu On April 21, Keep held the 2021 strategy and new product launch conference. In addition to upgrading the Keep App to version 7.0, it also launched important updates on its content and hardware product business lines, including three premium IP courses and Keep Intelligence. Two smart hardware products, the spinning bike C1 Pro and the Keep bracelet B2 member special edition. Keep, launched in 2015, has grown into an App with 300 million users and 6 million daily activities. In terms of the country’s nearly 700 million people with sports needs, Keep believes that there is still room for growth. In six years, its growth path is also very clear. In the three years after 2015, it relied on tool attributes to achieve a scale of 100 million users. With the further exploration of user needs and the inevitable monetization attempts, starting in 2018, it began to build its own sports consumer brand from scenes such as eating, wearing, training, etc., while continuing to promote online businesses with higher profit margins such as membership and advertising.化 means. Today, after three years of commercial testing, Keep is about to enter the next stage. Earlier, some media reported that Keep planned to go to the United States for an IPO in the second quarter of this year (or July), and submit a prospectus to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) as early as the end of April. According to Sina Finance, Keep recently appointed a new CFO, established an investor relations department, and recruited an investor relations director. In this regard, the Keep official has not yet responded. If the news is true, this strategic announcement may be the last important adjustment of Keep before becoming a listed company. Can it win the support of users and the trust of investors?

What is an open sports platform?

From the perspective of Keep, the company has reached the third stage of its development.

The positioning of the first stage is the most well-known, a mobile fitness app for users, emphasizing the attributes of tools; the second stage is the commercial landing of eating and wearing exercises around the family scene, with the goal of becoming a new generation of sports brand.

After tools and brands, Keep aimed at the “open sports platform” at this stage. Peng Wei, co-founder of Keep, said that the focus of this stage is to provide users with more value-added services.

In fact, if you look back in the past, you will find that Keep is still continuing the business pattern that has been formed before.

In June last year, Keep partner and vice president Liu Dong told Jiemian News that Keep’s commercialization pattern is divided into three quadrants: A, B, and C: A and C are the existing foundations, which respectively refer to the user scale (currently 300 million) And the sales scale of sports consumer goods (existing 1 billion GMV), on top of which is the value-added business B that provides users with sports solutions, including but not limited to members and live lessons.

Therefore, what Keep does can be attributed to three directions: user scale, sales scale, and consumer products or App functions that may generate value-added services.

Back to the present, content and hardware products will become the two most important tentacles of Keep in the third stage. Hardware products stimulate sales, content supports value-added services, and the two share the task of user retention.

On the content road, Keep has crossed the threshold of winning by quantity and made it clear that it will pay more attention to quality. However, high-quality content is also a high consumption of team capabilities. In order to ensure that output efficiency is not affected, Keep’s idea is to increase investment in self-developed IP while building an open platform and introducing PUGC and brand institutions as another content source.

It is understood that there are currently more than 1,200 self-developed PGC courses on the platform. The three courses of temperament ballet, hot sweat yoga, and fat burning party launched at the press conference are the further development of Keep on self-developed IP. explore. In addition to recorded classes, Keep’s current live classes have also covered 8 am to 10 pm.

As for “opening up”, Keep said that 3,000 athletes have settled on the platform, including Pamela, Xiao Ma, and Saturday Ye, who are on fire on content platforms such as Station B and Xiaohongshu. At the same time, overseas content IPs such as Zumba and Laimei have also been introduced.

Keep’s determination is obvious. Prior to this, user feedback about the various messy entrances of the Keep App interface was by no means a few, and the updated App 7.0 version absolutely reserved the home page for “content”, and the “mall” including sports consumer goods was brought to the end. unit.

“Users can better find courses that meet their own needs on the homepage, and the efficiency of searching has become higher.” Peng Wei said. From “I want to show users everything” to the refreshing interface with content-oriented, the goal that Keep wants to achieve the most now is very clear.

For another link hardware product, Keep made it clear that technology will be the next trend in hardware products.

Take this smart spinning bike C1 Pro as an example. It broke the price range of Keep’s control of related categories at around 2,000 yuan and reached 4,999 yuan. The main reason was the addition of a 21.5-inch screen and a number of smarter ones. Interactive features.

The highlight of the screen is the ability to switch between the bicycle interface and the App interface system by flipping. Users can also participate in other recorded and broadcast classes and exercises while using the bicycle.

In addition, 80% of Keep’s spinning users will practice with live classes. In the past, when the coach reminded to increase the resistance, the user was required to twist it manually, and the C1 Pro added the ETM electromagnetic control system, which would intelligently adjust the resistance of the bicycle according to the rhythm of the music under the coach’s preset, and also combined with the user’s day The status is adjusted.

Of course, as one of the implementation paths of the open motion platform, the opening of Keep hardware products will be reflected in the connection of data.

“In terms of hardware, we have also connected to nearly 20 manufacturers, including Huawei, and all data can be interconnected.” said Liu Dong, a partner and vice president of Keep, who is mainly responsible for the sports consumer goods business. “So The current Keep experience, including content and data, has become richer and diversified, and we are evolving towards platformization.”

Keep 3.0 How to commercialize

As a startup company that has recently completed $360 million in Series F financing and frequently reported IPO plans, Keep is obviously no longer the age of storytelling, but has to go to its own sustainable ecology and healthy business model every step of the way. Move closer.

Are content and hardware good business?

The outside world has no way of knowing the scale of Keep’s investment in content research and development and hardware products, but Liu Dong said in an interview that the main investment directions of financing just completed include live lessons, premium content IP, international content IP, and intelligent hardware AIoT.

According to Huang Jingjing, vice president of Keep, the commercial value of content is divided into three levels: the first is to help brands establish communication and contact with users to reduce customer acquisition costs; second, it is part of the service, which can also be said to support The basis of membership scale; third, it can bring brand premiums.

The return on content seems to be difficult to measure at present. The recorded and live broadcast lessons on Keep retain some of the free content and package the rest into membership rights. Although the compound interest of content products is extremely high, it is clear that both rely on users’ recognition of the value of membership rights. How to design Keep’s membership products to continue to attract users is also a difficult point.

In fact, when discussing “value-added business B”, Liu Dong said that it will mainly appear in online forms such as membership and paid courses. The core of this business line is content payment. When the live broadcast class was just launched, this content format was also speculated to be Keep’s touchstone on the road to content payment. However, since the live broadcast class went live in August last year, the commercial form of the live broadcast class is still being explored. It is temporarily related to membership rights. Get through instead of adopting a separate payment model.

“When we evaluate the commercial value of live lessons, we will still return to the origin of sports. For example, we will look at live broadcast data such as the user’s exercise duration to assess whether it helps users exercise.” Huang Jingjing explained, “Live If we did it for less than a year, we still have a lot of gameplay to explore, and we haven’t reached a mature state yet.”

As for the sports consumer goods business, including hardware, although its annual GMV has stabilized at a scale of one billion yuan, it has actually experienced some small disturbances in products such as konjac flour and sports underwear.

Liu Dong said frankly that Keep has also made detours on this commercialization route.

For example, when Keep was making clothing, he noticed that brands like Li Ning and FILA in the entire industry have adopted a sporty lifestyle, which is biased towards a sense of design. This attracted Keep to make the same choice, but the sense of design also means ” Non-standard products”. Looking back, Liu Donghui discovered that not only the sense of design varies from person to person, but also the fault-tolerant mechanism such as the channel capabilities of traditional clothing brands such as Li Ning that Keep does not possess-this may also be the reason for the small bumps.

“So we went back and started from functional clothing again. When you do yoga and running sports bra, you will find that the comfort of the fabric is still relatively standard.” Liu Dong said, “So this is regarded as a consumer product. We have taken a little detour, but we are still able to adjust back.”

It is not difficult to understand that Keep’s sports consumer goods will be a strong cash cow, but because of the low gross profit margin (close to the industry level), it will not become Keep’s main source of profit, satisfying multiple rounds of income generation and high gross profit margin. Payment is a weapon to improve the company’s overall profitability.

In fact, this income structure may also indirectly determine Keep’s strategy for content and hardware at this stage.

Previously, Keep stated that the company had achieved overall profitability in March 2020.

“But whether we want to continue to make profits depends on our future plans.” Liu Dong said, “We believe that we need to make some investment at this stage, because we have already made it clear from the strategic point of view that in terms of platform, content, and smart hardware Going up is to invest in this matter.”

The engine on the special Ferrari 812 Superfast is, without a doubt, the naturally aspirated V12 with the highest capacity of all Ferrari’s regular engine lineup at 818 hp. Not stopping there, the maximum number of rpm this engine reaches is still at an unbelievably high 9,500 rpm – also an unprecedented parameter on regular Ferrari cars. According to Ferrari, many engine components have been upgraded while the engine valve mechanism has been optimized and the exhaust system is renewed, which promises to bring performance ” there is no precedent in the V12 supercar segment. The entire chassis system on this project has also been modified to increase the sensitivity, flexibility when the user steers when allowing all 4 wheels to turn independently. The Side Slip Control anti-slip system is also a software upgrade compared to the regular Ferrari 812 Superfast. At first glance at the new Ferrari 812 Superfast, it’s hard to see the entire body frame that has been reworked to optimize the aerodynamics and downward momentum further. A series of additional details such as the front air cavity, large rear diffuser and new exhaust mouths, and the rear window are replaced with a monolithic aluminum panel. The weight of the car is made lower than the regular Ferrari 812 Superfast, but it’s unclear exactly how much. Inside the car cabin, the entire interior area of ​​the door has been reworked to minimize weight, the gear lever switches to the H-shaped mini 3 split-lever interface like Roma. The special Ferrari 812 Superfast price was only announced on May 5, but users may find it difficult to spend less than 7 figures. Reference: Carscoops

With the number of tourists booking a booming tour not only on the occasion of April 30, May 1 and summer tours, Da Nang tourism and travel businesses are actively building new products, unique tours, adding more service … to prepare to welcome guests. Facing the positive signal of the revival of the tourism industry, Son Tra – the largest night market in Da Nang – bustles again after a long period of unsteady activities, small traders “struggling” to stick to the COVID-19 . As noted by PV VTC News, at the end of March and early April 2021, the atmosphere at Son Tra night market was bustling again, especially on weekends. If only 1 month ago, each night, there were only a few dozen booths of small merchants with lights hanging on to “relieve sadness”, now it would be crowded. Mr. Do Ngoc Thi Ca – Director of Da Nang DHTC Company, the unit that manages and operates the Son Tra night market – said that the impact of COVID-19 epidemic caused the number of visitors to the night market to decline seriously. In 2020, the market will only operate for about 4 months. However, the first half of March 2021 has been very prosperous up to now. Usually about 60% of the number of stores are active on weekdays, about 90% on weekends. According to Mr. Cao Tri Dung, Chairman of Da Nang Tourism Association, this local tourism business community is ready to reopen all services. “We are committed to making tourists see an always new Da Nang,” said Dung. Son Tra night market food stall is bustling again when domestic tourists from Hanoi, Ho Chi Minh City and other provinces in the country are choosing Da Nang as the destination. Check-in point at Son Tra night market attracts many people to have fun, take souvenir photos every night, especially on weekend nights. The revived night market, not only does small business Da Nang light up to serve the people and tourists, but also attracts foreigners to register to participate in business. “In the coming time, Son Tra night market will rearrange the products, supplementing many industries that are not available, with the spearhead of typical products from Quang Nam, Da Nang, Gia Lai. The Market Management Board will pilot the “Standard Specialty” booth with many combo full of specialties, reasonably designed to be gifts, packed in novel ways, fully packed at the production place, with brand logos. brand to create trust for customers. goods “, Mr. Ca said.

Reuters will start charging an access fee of $ 34.99 / month. (Source: Getty images) On April 15, British news agency Reuters News – one of the world’s largest news agencies specializing in providing articles, images, graphics and videos for newspapers, radio stations, television stations, Internet and other Other media – notification will start charge for access to news on its website. According to the notice posted on the Reuters homepage, the fee to register an account at Reuters.com will cost 34.99 USD / month – the same as the fee that the competitor of Reuters is Bloomberg financial news agency (US) is applicable to customers. The announcement said Reuters would allow readers to read 5 articles for free, but would then require users to sign up for an account if they want to continue to update information on Reuters.com. It is not clear when Reuters will begin charging for the service. Reuters marketing director Josh London described the move as a “streak digital converter the biggest at Reuters for a decade. ” The fee for readers is a hot topic in the period of traditional printing press revenue decline, while electronic newspapers are struggling about revenue sources. Paywall (roughly translated as “Wall of fees”) will be displayed asking readers to pay or subscribe when they want to read the information in the article. The Wall Street Journal was the first newspaper to adopt a fee-for-readers model in 1996. After that, most major American publications have studied this strategy, including The New York Times – the newspaper is Considered as one of the examples of paywall’s success. In 2018, Reuters’ biggest competitor, Bloomberg, also implemented charging fees for its information. Although not disclosing the number of subscribers, but Bloomberg claims this number is much higher than expected.

CEO Phu Dong Group: ‘It is not capital, land fund that is the biggest difficulty for investors’.

In the position of investor’s representative, Mr. Ngo Quang Phuc, General Director of Phu Dong Group, said that at present, the problem of capital is not a problem for investors, but the biggest difficulty is the land fund for implementation of real estate projects.

According to Mr. Phuc, over the past time, the land price has increased, the planning of suitable land funds to implement projects still has many shortcomings, so to harmonize this issue, the state needs to plan specifically for each area, specially acquired land to create large land funds then auctioned investor selection implementation

Mr. Phuc also emphasized on the inadequacies of legal procedures and the state. According to the General Director of Phu Dong Group, it is necessary to shorten the time to resolve the procedures, creating opportunities for investors to implement projects faster, thereby solving the problem of lack of housing supply. now on.

Reply to TS. Nguyen Anh Tuan, Editor-in-Chief of the Investor Magazine on the problem of private participation in transport infrastructure construction, Mr. Le Do Muoi, Director of the Institute of Transport Strategy and Development ( Ministry of Transport), affirmed that the resources for transport need to be very large, it is very difficult for each state to do it.

“Medium-term capital (2021-2025) for transportation is about 1.2 million billion VND. This is a very large number. The current legal corridor has the Law on Public Investment and the PPP Law, but unfortunately the PPP law has removed the BT form from the law, making it difficult for only forms such as BOT, PPP to call for resources. Asking the giants easily get a shake of the head when calling for PPP cooperation, ”he said.

The representative of the Ministry of Transport also affirmed that transport is a public need, not a private profit. Therefore, capital needs to be socialized with great demand.

“At present, the ring roads also call on investors to participate with many suitable solutions for the benefits of both the state-investors – the people. The Ministry of Transport will sit down with interested investors to dedicate resources to listen and find different, suitable forms for cooperation. The Ministry of Transport has an open policy mechanism to call for investors in projects with high feasibility, ”said Mr. Muoi.

Regarding the issue of calling for investment capital for transport infrastructure, continue with the presentation, PhD. Nguyen Anh Tuan said that investors have great expectations on the PPP Law, but the recently issued Decree of the Ministry of Finance is facing many “complaints” and says inequality. The problem mentioned by many opinions is the mobilization of foreign capital for transport infrastructure development, but so far no investors have participated.

Answer this question, GS-TSKH. Nguyen Mai said that if mobilizing FDI, the biggest risk will be encountered is delay, which is followed by capital mobilization.

Therefore, the most important thing of current management, according to Mr. Nguyen Mai, is overcoming delays from licensing, implementation, site clearance, cost effective calculation, … to Investor implemented on schedule.

“This is a long story. And to be enforced is a story forever. FDI has so far failed in BOT, PPP and even more failed to invest in transport infrastructure. For example, it is the case that investor IL&FS (India) has expressed interest in the Hanoi – Hai Phong expressway. Although the negotiation is almost completed, the problem of many problems has made the project unable to sell “, GS-TSKH. Nguyen Mai said.

“The first BOT Decree was born in 1993, 5 years later, the PPP Law was born, but in the end, it is nothing to do, because it cannot answer the legitimate interests of investors. If we do not have innovative thinking, we do not listen to irreverent criticism, we cannot correct fundamental mistakes. Currently, many foreign investors want to participate not only in road traffic, but also railways and airports. If we have a more reasonable law, more open and transparent, and ensure legitimate benefits, both domestic and foreign investors will want to contribute capital to implement projects with the state ”, Professor-TSKH. Nguyen Mai emphasized.