Chapter 318 The Highlight Moment of Ringing the Bell on Stage

That night, Jerry Yang, Li Xiaofan and several other Yahoo shareholders treated Morgan Stanley's Mary Meeker team to a sumptuous dinner at Tang Zixin's Tangyuan Restaurant.

After returning to his hotel in San Francisco, the tipsy Li Xiaofan called Tang Xinyi who was far away in Hangzhou.

It was already past noon local time in Hangzhou, and Tang Xinyi had just finished lunch and returned to the dormitory to lie on the bed listening to music and taking a nap.

"Hello, dear, why are you calling me so early? Is everything going well in the United States? Did you go to my third sister's house for a delicious meal?" Tang Xinyi said lazily on the phone.

"It went very smoothly. Just now, several of us Yahoo shareholders invited the Morgan Stanley team to your sister's restaurant for dinner. Your sister Tang Zixin said that she and your little nephew missed you and asked when you would be free to come to San Francisco to play again?"

"Hate it. After hearing what you said, I really want to fly to San Francisco!"

"Haha, then fly over! Why, are you tired of Hangzhou West Lake so quickly?"

"That's not the case. People will always get aesthetic fatigue. I don't have many friends here in Hangzhou, and you are not with me. I feel bored..."

"Xinyi, I called to discuss with you. Are you interested in studying in San Francisco?"

"Why did you suddenly ask this question? To be honest, there are many very good art schools in San Francisco, such as San Francisco Art Institute SFAI, California Institute of the Arts CCA, San Francisco Art University AAU, etc. They are all very famous. I am indeed interested..."

"Well, let me tell you first. Do you want to know some good news? "

"Hate it, tell me now!"

"Last year, we agreed that my goal of $100 million worth has been achieved!"

Tang Xinyi shouted on the other end of the phone: "One hundred million dollars? Honey, are you kidding me?"

"I'm not kidding you. This morning, Morgan Stanley, the lead underwriter of Yahoo's stock offering, told us that the issue price of Yahoo's stock is $35 per share. Wall Street is very optimistic about Yahoo's prospects and subscribers are very enthusiastic. The market value of the 2.96 million Yahoo shares I control has exceeded $100 million! And according to the Morgan Stanley team's estimate, after Yahoo's stock is officially listed on NASDAQ on April 12 next month, the stock price will be at least $40. By then, my net worth may be far more than $100 million..."

"Oh my God, it's really $100 million?" Tang Xinyi on the other end of the phone couldn't believe her ears.

"It's true! There are so many good projects in Silicon Valley. Xinyi, I plan to set up a base in San Francisco, and register a new Yifan Venture Capital Company in San Francisco. I will come to the San Francisco Bay Area frequently to look at projects. So, let me discuss with you, are you interested in coming to San Francisco for further studies, and by the way, help me manage the Yifan Venture Capital Company in the United States when you have time? The advantage of coming to San Francisco for further studies is that you can often be with your third sister Zixin..."

"Hate, I'm really moved by what you said. Honey, how about I think about it first, and then I'll discuss it with my father and mother when I have time..."

"Well, you think about it first, anyway, it's not that urgent."

"Honey, your goal of $100 million has been achieved, so when will you come to my house to propose marriage?" Tang Xinyi said shyly on the other end of the phone.

"Haha, you haven't forgotten this! How about after Yahoo's stock is listed for trading next month?"

"Okay, then I'll wait for you to come to my house and dare to propose to my father and mother!"

"Well, now I'm worth $100 million, what's there to be afraid of!" Li Xiaofan said with a smile.

Tang Xinyi said on the other end of the phone: "Hehe, look at how you speak now that you have money..."

"Haha, didn't the ancients say 'poor people have short ambitions' and 'wealthy people have great power'!"

...

Going to NASDAQ, located in Times Square in New York, to ring the bell is a bit like being on the list of successful candidates in ancient times.

April 12, 1996 was the day when Yahoo's stock was officially listed and traded on NASDAQ in the United States.

This is an exciting moment for all Yahoo shareholders. How can they miss their wives and good partners who have been together in business at this time?

This is also an important moment for bigwigs to choose to bring their wives and business partners to share the glory!

On the morning of April 12, Friday, local time in the Eastern Time, at the NASDAQ exchange in Times Square, New York, Jerry Yang, his wife Akiko Yamazaki, co-founder David Filo, Sequoia Capital partner Moritz, SoftBank Group founder Masayoshi Son, and a group of shareholder representatives from Singapore's Yifan Holdings Pte. Ltd., including Li Xiaofan and Tang Xinyi, gathered happily in this Feng Shui treasure land.

For Li Xiaofan, this was the first time in his life to participate in the bell ringing ceremony of the company he invested in on the NASDAQ exchange, and he was extremely excited.

"Dear, why do I feel your hands are shaking! Are you so excited?" Tang Xinyi, who was wearing an elegant little dress, held Li Xiaofan's hand and said angrily.

"Well, it's really a bit exciting!"

After Yahoo Chairman Jerry Yang went on stage to make a brief speech on behalf of Yahoo, amid the warm applause of Tang Xinyi and other guests, at 9:28 a.m. Eastern Time, Li Xiaofan, Filo, Moritz, Masayoshi Son and other guests went on stage to ring the bell.

When Li Xiaofan and his team came on stage, the background music of the NASDAQ exchange's bell ringing had already sounded cheerfully.

In the NASDAQ exchange demonstration hall, representatives of Yahoo employees, customer representatives, investment institutions, and special guests like Tang Xinyi all applauded and began to count down.

"6, 5, 4, 3..."

With the arrival of the official trading time of the NASDAQ market at 9:30 in the morning, a bright and grand bell ringing sounded in the NASDAQ exchange demonstration hall.

Unlike domestic stock listings, there is really a "bell" on the stock exchange for you to ring. The NASDAQ in the United States is a completely electronic digital securities trading market, and the "bells" here are all simulated sound effects.

There is also a bell in front of the small indoor balcony of the New York Stock Exchange, which allows you to pretend to knock it with a small hammer, and the bell sound is also electronically controlled.

There was no hammer at NASDAQ, only a button on the screen, which was a touch screen. After Yang Zhiyuan, Li Xiaofan and other Yahoo representatives pressed it, festive colored strips floated down, and the hall was filled with unusually warm applause.

This is the legendary "NASDAQ listing bell ringing ceremony". In fact, the scene was just for the purpose of TV broadcast and photo shooting publicity, and the effect was better. The rest was really simple.

With the cheers of Tang Xinyi and other guests in the audience, Li Xiaofan turned around and saw the opening price of Yahoo stock on the big screen!