Limited role for Ye Keyong
On the surface this seems a sad and sentimental tale of doom and destiny. Seemingly, CDC took no wrong turns in pursuit of its cause, and the Internet bubble was to blame. However, since none of the decisions taken in later-stages brought in any profits, the iconic company can't simply be labeled a victim of its unavoidable fate.
Co-founder Ye Keyong of Hong Kong hardly absolves himself from blame. Nobody knows why the management layer insisted on borrowing money to invest in VAM, a maneuver that eventually spelt the end of the company. What also defies comprehension is that in the 12 years following the start of public trading in its stock, CDC expended its energy playing capital games and failed to focus on performance goals bounded by a clear direction of development.
Ye, an MBA graduated from the Wharton School who had previously worked as a management consultant in KPMG, did not attract positive assessments from his own colleagues or from his peers in the same occupation. The view is widely held that, Ye despite his extensive connections, only played the role of broker, facilitating the exchange of capital but rarely acting on resource integration.
End game or not?
CDC did have its glorious past, but the journey was like a roller coaster ride. Many say during its 12 year journey, CDC occupied a favored niche in a period of rapid growth in China's Internet industry, and the fact the company failed to seize a single opportunity is simply unbelievable
Even following in the steps of other portal sites in China, it would never have walked to this blind alley. However, the company lost its way when the Internet bubble burst, and took a wrong turn when it relied on capital acquisition to fuel further development.
At the end of the day, funds attracted by expansion were a drop in the bucket, utterly inadequate in the face of a difficult situation.
But filing for bankruptcy protection does not mean bankruptcy. Indeed, more possibilities may still exist to engineer a triumphant return.
