Delong Crisis: Who Should Reflect More

Author: Tang Botong and others
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2004-08-01
Features: [Editor's Recommendation] I have always had confidence in Delong, believing it to be a legally compliant and healthily developing enterprise. Delong represents the new era of private economy and is a pioneer in the integration of capital and industry.
— Wei Jie, economist, professor, Ph.D. supervisor at the School of Economics and Management, Tsinghua University, and former independent director of Delong Group.
Delong: A major shareholder that takes responsibility to stakeholders. It not only fulfills its obligations and responsibilities to the majority of small and medium shareholders, increasing their benefits, but also fulfills its responsibilities to the state, employees, and the community.
— Zhong Pengrong, economist, director of Beijing Vision Consulting Center.
China needs Delong. We need such enterprises. The reform and development process of China needs a large number of such enterprises.
— Chen Hui, economist, Ph.D.
In 1986, a young man started a small color photo printing shop in Urumqi with only 400 yuan. Eighteen years later, the company he led had total assets worth billions, with 177 listed and invested-in enterprises across dozens of industries. On April 14, 2004, after six years without a single declining day, the "Three Swords" of Delong—long revered in the investment world—saw their stocks collectively plummet! As of July 13, the three stocks had fallen by 58%, 78%, and 79% since December 15, 2003, with a total market value evaporating by 16.361 billion yuan. After the Delong crisis broke, the company, once a highly regarded figure in the investment world, was nearly "degraded" into a target of public criticism. The Delong dynasty, swaying in the storm, reached a crossroads. Could it weather this storm? Where was its direction?
The significance of the Delong case lies not only in the "aftermath" of various issues but also in reflecting on the background and deeper causes of its problems, which holds broader implications. This is not to exaggerate the situation but to learn from the past to prepare for the future.