Nasdaq-listed immigrants

Baidu was not invented by anyone. Baidu is a leading Internet software technology provider and platform operator in China. More than 80% of the major websites providing search engines in China are provided by Baidu. At the end of 1999, Baidu was established in Silicon Valley of the United States, and the founders were Mr. Li Yanhong and Mr. Xu Yong, who had many years of successful experience in Silicon Valley of the United States. In 2000, Baidu returned to China for development. Baidu's name comes from the inspiration of "Thousands of Baidu looking for her", which places Baidu's confidence in its own technology.

"Baidu", founded in early 2000, began to provide search technology services for domestic websites; 200 1 introducing a new business model-search engine ranking (for enterprises, charging fees to make them prioritize on possible search pages, thus improving the possibility of winning new customers), the company began to make profits gradually; According to the recent statistics of Alexa, an American research institution, "Baidu" has become the second largest independent search engine manufacturer in the world, ranking first among Chinese search engines. Baidu is the world's largest Chinese search engine, dedicated to providing people with the most convenient way to obtain information. Baidu has the largest Chinese online database in the world, and it processes more than 1 100 million search requests from more than 100 countries every day. The simple and powerful search function is trusted by netizens, and more than 70,000 users set Baidu as their home page every day. At the same time, Baidu also provides a platform for enterprises to acquire potential consumers, and provides massive information retrieval and management solutions for large enterprises and government agencies. In the era of information surplus, Baidu has become synonymous with search with its simple and reliable search experience.

On August 5th, new york time, at about 10: 00 am, Xu Yong, Bi Sheng, Baidu Investment Experience and Kun arrived at the trading office on the 49th floor accompanied by the president of Goldman Sachs.

"Li Yanhong never talks much. He is very calm and can't see the tension. This is his usual style. " Bi Sheng told this reporter.

Interestingly, Goldman Sachs sent the chief trader to take charge of Baidu's first day trading, and was also the person in charge of Google's first day trading.

The transaction has begun. The chief trader holds a mobile phone in one hand and a mouse in the other, scanning the investors' orders on the screen with his eyes and constantly reporting the latest quotations.

When the traders quoted 35 and 37, the first applause rang out in the office, and everyone knew it was successful. Unexpectedly, it was not long before the trader said 42 and 45 again. This time, the applause was sparse, and everyone was shocked, and everyone around him was surrounded.

Bi Sheng glanced at Li Yanhong at this time and found that Li Yanhong was in tears. Look at Xu Yong, who is also in tears.

But the price is still rising. "I was frightened to see that businessman. His whole body trembled, his voice trembled and his hands trembled. At this time, he has quoted 72. " Bi Sheng said, "He can't react at this time, and his hands are out of control. Results 1 1: 35, the first transaction was completed, and the opening price of Baidu was $66. In fact, at that time, the quotation had exceeded 70. "

At this time, all the applause and cheers were really released, and all the people embraced together. "Get rid of poverty this time." Bi Sheng doesn't know who he heard whispering.

At 2: 40 pm, Bi Sheng and Xu Yong took a bus to Nasdaq. At this time, the news that Baidu's share price broke through 100 dollars came from the radio on the bus. "I have money." Bi Sheng said to Xu Yong.

Finally, they came to the Nasdaq Exchange Building on 43rd Street in Manhattan, which is a corner that intersects with the famous Broadway and is crowded with people. In front of the large display screen facing the street outside the trading hall, many new york citizens and tourists are watching. At the moment, the rising stock price, Baidu's big LOGO and the keywords that China netizens searched for Baidu at that time (about 12 Beijing time) are alternately displayed on the display screen.

"When an American came to talk to us, we were all cheering and taking pictures." Bi Sheng recalled that he asked us if we belonged to this company. I said yes! He said, today is your birthday. Then I asked Li Yanhong that he was the CEO and went to take a photo with him.

At 3 o'clock sharp, Li Yanhong led a team into the trading hall to rehearse the closing ceremony. At 4 pm, after taking photos with investors, bankers and the listing team respectively, Li Yanhong began the closing ceremony of Nasdaq on August 5, 2005. At this moment, Baidu's closing price is set at $65,438 +022.54, and Baidu's market value is $3.958 billion.

At this time, Li Yanhong's 22.9% stake made his net worth exceed $900 million. At the same time, Baidu in China has produced dozens of multimillionaires and hundreds of millionaires.

China Tea and Sightseeing in Bi Sheng

"At that time, everyone was exhausted and didn't sleep for at least 30 hours. But at 6: 30 in the evening, everyone rushed to the Blue Fin Restaurant to hold a celebration dinner. " Bi Sheng said: "The reception will last until the evening 1 1: 30. Investors, Baidu team and underwriters took turns to speak. Everyone says that Baidu is really powerful and has created a miracle. But Li Yanhong's speech was the shortest, so he said a word: thank you. "

After the banquet, everyone went back to the hotel to rest, but they all felt unable to sleep. Li Yanhong can't sleep either. He called Xu Yong, Bi Sheng and several others to the lobby of hotel ritz to continue the tea party. "The waiter recommended many kinds of wine to us, and finally thought we should drink something special, which is called ChineseTea (China tea). The result is still jasmine tea in Beijing. "

At this meeting that lasted until two o'clock in the evening, Li Yanhong arranged the next step. "He arranged to return to China to face the media problems, and then mainly said that all domestic work should be carried out step by step as usual." Bi Sheng recalled that Li Yanhong had recovered his composure at that time.

On August 6th, Li Yanhong slept in the Ritz Hotel for a whole day. Bi Sheng was very busy, so he put on casual clothes and began to visit new york.

"I went to Chinatown, the World Trade Center site and the Statue of Liberty. I meet people from China everywhere, and everyone is talking about Baidu. " Bi Sheng recalled that he bought a camera battery in a small shop run by a Chinese in Chinatown, and the owner recognized himself from the front page of a Chinese newspaper Qiao Bao he was reading. "This is a second-generation immigrant who doesn't speak Chinese very well. He asked me a lot about China and called his sister out to take a photo with me. "

Then in a tea restaurant in Chinatown, Bi Sheng was recognized by the owner again. "The boss said a lot of compliments, saying that every overseas Chinese is saying that Baidu's stock has soared, and they all think that China's enterprises are great. Finally gave me a 20% discount. "

The last time I was recognized in America was at the foot of the Statue of Liberty. Bi Sheng chats with a China painter who paints tourists for a living. This is what many China artists have done in the United States. "We still talked about Baidu. He asked me a lot of questions, especially in China, which seemed very emotional. In the end, he only charged me 15 dollars for this painting, and painted the other 40 dollars. " Bi Sheng said with a smile, it seems that people in China in the United States are happy for Baidu.

Bi Sheng finally came to a small shop to choose souvenirs for his wife. The clerk is an American girl. She took out a lot of clothes for Bi Sheng to choose from, and chatted a few words: "Well, all the clothes here are made in China, anymadeby china", and then her voice changed: "Baidu is also made". Bi Sheng is really surprised to be here.

Bi Sheng decided to fly back to Beijing from new york on August 7th, and called Li Yanhong before he left. "He didn't say anything, just say pay attention to safety on the road and contact again after returning home. He doesn't talk much, and he is a very shy and gentleman. "

On the Air China flight home, Bi Sheng fell asleep and was awakened by an old lady in Shandong next door. "Your program is playing on TV." The old lady pointed to the CCTV4 program being broadcast on the plane, and her son and daughter were also on the plane. "There are a lot of scary questions, and I chatted all the way. I can't support it until I fly to China, and I beg them to let me sleep for a while. "

After returning home, Bi Sheng received an email from Li Yanhong, "Li Yanhong saw domestic public opinion talking about stock prices. He doesn't think this is the best situation. Why didn't anyone talk about Baidu's listing as the glory of China and its significance to the IT industry in China? He feels that the atmosphere he feels in the United States is even warmer than at home. "