Letter from Dr. Alan Phan: May 24th, 2000
Dear Shareholders:
I received the following letter today. In fact, I've been receiving similar letters almost daily for the last few years. These words of encouragement are a primary source of motivation for myself and the Hartcourt team. Mr. Ori's concern is quite common among the HRCT longs; so I would like to reprint the letter and share a reply with you.
"Dear Dr. Phan,
I have been a shareholder for almost 2 years now. I only have about $20,000 invested in you and your company; it is all I could/can afford. It seems like every time I log on to my computer you are being attacked on all sides by naysayers, doubters, and bashers. I have incredible respect for you and what you have done in such a short time.
However, I am bothered by a nagging feeling I have been having lately. I feel like you are tired. I feel like you are ready to check out.
The hurdles I have watched you overcome, they seem to just get bigger and bigger. I pray that you will not checkout until your little empire is pulsing with life from talents all around you. I am so amazed at the talents you have recruited thus far, but I fear if you leave now or in the near future, the dream will fizzle.
I don't care about the short term share price of HRCT; I am long for 5+ yrs. What you are doing for so many shareholders out there is good. Their belief in you and what you are doing in China is inspiring. It is inspiring to me. I just hope you realize that you are the cornerstone of Hartcourt and will be for some time. You have intense pressure on you at all times. I am truly amazed at how you handle it.
I guess I just wanted to let you know that there are a lot of us out there rooting for you. We are behind you 100%.
Take good care of yourself,
Eugene Ori
hrct -shareholder"
Dear Mr. Ori:
My sincere thanks for your compliments and your encouragement. First, let me assure you that I am not a quitter. I have been building Hartcourt for the last 10 years, I have seen enough ups and downs on share prices, performance, results, praises, curses, envy, etc. to last me a lifetime. In fact, I love it when the going gets tough, because it pumps up my adrenaline, my energy and my determination. It pushes me to the limit, challenging my skills and my stamina. It makes me a better manager and a better person. In the battlefield, I always told my troops, "I advance, follow me. I retreat, kill me. I die, avenge me."
It's one of the mottos of my life.
Recently, I have been a little quiet, because several key items are approaching the finish line and I need all the concentration I can muster. Besides, we now have other capable leaders, like Mr. Mike Bianco, Dr. Charlie Yang, etc. who are assuming increasingly important roles in Hartcourt. In fact, Hartcourt's operations, its market position and its financial standing are much better now than when our shares were traded at $18. But again, while short-term investors have their own strategies for investing, I am here for our long-term success. I know the recent tumble of our share price has hurt shareholder confidence and investor commitment. It has created some difficulties for us in using HRCT stock to pay for acquisitions and expand our opportunities. However, these are minor obstacles in our long-term execution of the mission plan. We will overcome them as we have overcome many similar problems in the past.
My enthusiasm and my optimism for Hartcourt's future remain unshakeable. The major issues like the NASDAQ listing, the IPO underwriting agreement for SinoBull, the acquisition of a major ISP network, the start-up of Innostar wireless network, etc. will be taken care of in due time. Last year at this time, shareholders were yelling at me for being late in purchase agreements with UAC and FinTel. Since then, we have closed 7 deals, our vision of the number-one financial portal and a major infrastructure network of China's Internet is becoming a reality. I still have 6 months ahead to prove to the world that Hartcourt is a winner, two years in a row. In fact, I return to China this Sunday for a major event. If you follow the press releases, we have had good news from our operations almost every week since January.
Yes, I have had my share of bashers and naysayers, but they will remain in their holes, while we are flying. They all hope that I quit; but as usual, they have no clue as to what, we together will achieve. Walter Gagehot once said, "The greatest pleasure in life is doing what people say you cannot do." Hold on, the fun is just starting.
Sincerely,
Dr. Alan V. Phan
Chairman & CEO |
