Part 1: Wu's Departure and What Does It Mean?
Welcome back to the final Smartrick Picks Ideanomcis DD report of 2020! Before I get into the report which will be a two-part report. I would like to thank everyone who has supported my work this year. I started this blog on a whim and now thousands of people read what I put out from around the world. It is truly amazing and I still don’t quite understand how I got here but I’m not going anywhere now!
Part 1: Bruno Wu’s departure
Many investors were at a loss for words when the announcement of Bruno Wu stepping down as Chairman of Ideanomics. I personally see this as a catalyst to something much bigger.
In my first article about Ideanomics To the Moon? The Story of the Little Rocket that could I provided an overview not only the company but of Bruno Wu predating his purchase of You-on-Demand (YOD) from Shane Mcmahon back in 2015. If you haven’t read it you should.
Bruno Wu was appointed Chairman of You On-Demand in 2016 and quickly went to work on acquiring additional Hollywood distribution deals with companies to include including Disney, Paramount Pictures, NBC Universal, Twentieth Century Fox Television Distribution, Miramax, and a broad selection of the best content from Chinese filmmakers. In November of 2016 YOD declares a name change to WeCast Network in its Q3 filing with the SEC Revenues up 242% vs Q3 2015.
Takeaway
Bruno acquired a bunch of American pictures from Shane Mcmahon then went to work acquiring more American entertainment deals leveraging his already famous name in China where he is a media mogul. (Wu gets shit done)
Pivot to WeCast
Now that these Hollywood deals were in place thanks to Wu the company started to monetize them by using streaming services and other cloud-based platforms. He also started to infuse social media networks, influencers, and e-commerce (*cough* Grapevine Logic Inc)
Pivot to Fintech
In 2017, The company had started its transition into blockchain technology eventually rebranding to Seven Stars Cloud Group (SSC).
Takeaway
Bruno Wu’s transition to cloud-based platforms and then blockchain makes sense as when he was the co-chairman of SINA (one of the largest search engines in China) the company started to implement both cloud and blockchain technology into their infrastructure. (before Baidu did)
2018 Bruno Wu steps down as Chairmen to join the Nation Committee for China-US Relations (NCUSCR)
During Wu’s time at the NCUSCR, he worked with Henry Kissinger who was the special advisor to President Nixon. Henry Kissinger became the first high-ranking American representative to visit the People’s Republic of China during his secret visit to Beijing in July 1971. Today even at 97 years old Kissinger travels to China to speak with President Xi about the trade relations between the US and China. Bruno Wu’s wife Yang Lan has had Kissinger on her talk show in China in which she is a mainstream personality. The NCUSCR is comprised of a board of directors that are prior US senators, CEO, and other captains of industry.
The NCUSCR releases annual reports that talk about the state of China-US trade concentrating on fair trade between the two nations. In 2017 the NCUSCR started a new initiative (just before Bruno Wu joined the NCUSCR) concentrating on Digital Economy. (blockchain)
The 2018 report also listed investments between the US and China.
Smartrick Observation:
The US invested- High Growth in China Autos
China invested in- High Growth in Transportation
Bruno Wu returned back to Ideanomics in the second half of 2018 and eventually took over as CEO.
Bottom line:
Wu is the connection for all of these business deals in China, when he took over in 2016 he got so much done for the company in just 2 years. Bruno then left to seek out other opportunities and joined the NCUSCR. If the focus of his time there tells me anything it’s that he was inspired by the potential of transportation, auto sales, and blockchain. (sounds like the backbone of Ideanomics business doesn’t it)
Over the last 2 years, Wu has been making deals for Ideanomics with the biggest names in China. So his departure to me is signaling his work is done just like he thought it was back in 2018 when he left for the NCUSCR.
Bonus info that supports this narrative
Chao Yang also is no longer on the board of Ideanomics, but who is Chao Yang? Mr. Yang was the former Chairmen of China Life one of the largest insurance companies in China. Why was he on the board? Let me show you.
Above show the 4 steps of how Ideanomics does business let’s break it down with an example.
Example: $38.8bn financing & blockchain deal to electrify China’s bus fleet
1.) Government Subsidies
Chinese Government fronts the savings (tax credit) from the government subsidies the money to Ideanomics to start the fund
2.) Insurance Payments
Ideanomics approaches insurance companies for additional capital (cough* Chao Yang’s purpose)