The moment Han Luyi finished speaking, Deputy District Mayor Chen's heart skipped a beat.
Anyone who had reached his position was shrewd enough to read between the lines. He immediately caught the implication in Han Luyi's words.
Wanting to go public "in principle" meant he didn't want to go public.
But-
Why didn't he want to go public?
For a company, listing might have its advantages and disadvantages, but for its founders and major shareholders, the benefits certainly outweighed the drawbacks.
After all, cashing out company shares was actually very difficult. Once those shares could trade publicly on the stock market, however, an individual's wealth would multiply several times over at the very least, and liquidity would improve enormously.
Deputy District Mayor Chen had imagined how Source Intelligence might react to today's meeting: perhaps they would be ecstatic, or perhaps they would thank the city for its attention.
In any case, the response should have been positive.
After all, most entrepreneurs' ultimate dream was simply to ring the bell at a stock exchange.
Yet Han Luyi's reaction had genuinely caught him off guard.
Deputy District Mayor Chen took a sip of water, using the moment to study the expressions of the three people opposite him before asking, "Boss Han, does the company have any concerns?" Han Luyi smiled. "I wouldn't call them concerns. We just haven't thought that far ahead. We have discussed our future direction and financing channels internally."
Su Niannian picked up his cue. "Perhaps we haven't had enough experience, and our perspective is still somewhat limited. Source Intelligence hasn't been around very long, after all. If we raise funds through a listing, shareholders and the market will certainly expect profits. But given our current strategic direction, many of our investments may struggle to produce returns in the