Please stop smearing Dong Mingzhu for no more reason. Without Dong Mingzhu's firm leadership and foresight, Gree Electric Appliances may have fallen into the hands of Carrier Corporation in 2004. That year, Carrier proposed a 900 million yuan acquisition**, a proposal that was initially agreed to by Gree's top management. What's even more tempting is that Carrier offered Dong Mingzhu a high salary of 80 million yuan per year at that time, which is a sky-high price that is difficult for anyone to refuse**. However, Dong Mingzhu steadfastly rejected the offer, and her resolute opposition ultimately allowed Gree to avoid the fate of being acquired by foreign investors.
Imagine, if Carrier had successfully acquired Gree, Gree's core technology might have fallen into the hands of American companies, and Gree's brand might have lost its identity as a national enterprise and turned into an American brand. Such a change is undoubtedly a heavy blow to other national air conditioning companies in China, and may even lead to a more serious squeeze on them in the market.
Tesla, for example, has put a lot of pressure on Chinese auto companies, such as BYD, to a certain extent by acquiring and using its own technological advantages. And Gree, with Dong Mingzhu's leadership, now has more than 100 billion yuan in cash reserves in bank accounts and does not have any bank debts, which is very rare among today's debt-ridden enterprises.
In contrast, many well-known companies such as Evergrande, Country Garden, and Wanda are burdened with huge debts. Dong Mingzhu's image and contribution should not be belittled because of some people's one-sided words. Many of the state-owned enterprises are losing money, such as the three barrels of oil, railways, electric power and other industries, although they make considerable profits every year, but still claim to be losing money. Gree, on the other hand, has demonstrated strong financial strength with its deposits of more than 100 billion.
Although Dong Mingzhu's exploration in the fields of mobile phones, chips, and new energy has failed, her original intention is positive, and she tries to ensure the long-term stability of Gree through diversified development. The prosperity of the air conditioning industry depends largely on the prosperity of the real estate market, and once the real estate market stagnates, air conditioning sales will naturally be impacted. Therefore, for the long-term development of Gree, a diversification strategy is necessary. Dong's mistake was that she overextended while the technology was not yet mature, leading investors to be skeptical of the projects, which, combined with negative publicity on the internet, affected Gree's share price.
Despite this, Gree Air Conditioner still maintains a leading position in the industry, and its product quality is well-known. We should support such national enterprises, should not mislead the public sentiment, but should encourage and support Dong Mingzhu, support Gree Electric Appliances, and cheer for their future development.