Hong Kong 1980: The Savage Era

Chapter 128 [Takes over Hongpu Chemicals]

At first, investors lacked confidence and the stock price did not fluctuate, remaining stable at 1 cent.

Paramount Company held 62% of the shares of Hongpu Chemical Company and spent 550 million yuan, consuming all the funds in the account.

Upon seeing this, Luo Qihong immediately ordered his staff to sell the residential tenement building in Ho Man Tin acquired from Baiqi Real Estate Company to Hehong Real Estate Company, and immediately transferred 350 million yuan from his personal account to the account of Paramount Company.

The original plan was to sell the residential tenement building in Ho Man Tin to Siu On Real Estate Company, but Siu On Real Estate Company is currently short of funds and has a debt of more than 1 million yuan, making it difficult to easily withdraw funds to acquire a residential tenement building worth 9 million yuan.

Luo Qihong first let Hehong Real Estate Company take over, and then resell it to Zhaoan Real Estate Company when the situation of Zhaoan Real Estate Company improves. This will benefit both parties.

Faced with the stagnant share price of Hongpu Chemical Company, Luo Qihong could only continue to release favorable news, such as HSBC and Bank of East Asia were willing to treat 50% of the loans as bad debts, and Hongpu Chemical Company only needed to pay 10% of the principal.

At the same time, Luo Qihong announced that Hongpu Chemical Company was ready to issue 0.1 million new shares to HSBC and Paramount Group at a price of 1 yuan per share, of which Paramount Group would hold 8 million new shares and HSBC would hold 2 million shares, raising 1 million yuan to solve the company's debt problem.

Hongpu Chemical Company Board Meeting
Luo Qihong sat in the first seat, looking at the directors in front of him, and said seriously, "At present, the situation of Hongpu Chemical is very bad. Although HSBC and Bank of East Asia have greatly reduced the company's debt, the company still has a big problem in repaying the interest. Do you have any suggestions to solve the company's debt problem as soon as possible?"

The directors in suits looked at each other in bewilderment. There seemed to be no other effective way except selling some properties to raise funds and repay debts.

Some of these directors are small shareholders, and some are company executives. It is impossible for them to invest money in the company. After all, Hongpu Chemical is already half-dead, and they are skeptical about whether Luo Qihong can reorganize the company.

"Since you all have no other options, let's do as I announced to the outside world. Let's settle some of the company's debts and clean up some properties. We will try to clear 2 million yuan of debt within a month and reduce the debt ratio to 32%." Luo Qihong glanced at the directors and continued, "When cleaning up the company's assets, I found that the company still has a batch of patents available. I plan to sell or license these patents to Southeast Asian countries to obtain some funds for turnover. Do you have any opinions?"

The middle-aged director with a slicked-back hair asked back, "If we sell these patents, what will happen to Hongpu Chemical? The competition among peers is already so fierce. If we add our peers in Southeast Asia, they may take advantage of the low labor costs to seize our market. I think this is just a temporary solution."

Luo Qihong refuted expressionlessly, "Hongpu Chemical Company has reached this point. Does it still have a future? Drinking poison to quench thirst can at least keep it alive for a while. If you don't drink it, it will be powerless to save the situation now. If you have any good suggestions, I don't agree with this."

The director with the slicked-back hair stopped talking. He had originally wanted to make things difficult for Luo Qihong, but now that he had fallen into a trap, it was difficult for him to object anymore.

"Since everyone has no objection, I'll have someone spread the news." Luo Qihong glanced at the slicked-back director and said, "Everyone is very clear about the company's situation. Many of you here are shareholders. If you want to withdraw your investment, I can buy out your shares at the market price of 1 cent per share."

In fact, the shareholding of shareholders present here does not exceed 16%. Luo Qihong, who has absolute controlling rights, can completely clear them out of the board of directors and make the board of directors his world.

However, considering the interests, he wanted to exclude those who were not convinced and unwilling to believe in him and acquire their shares. Instead of making money for them, it would be better for him to make more money.

The shareholders are all shrewd people. Selling now will clearly mean losing money. They believe that Luo Qihong may be able to earn back some of the principal, so no one is willing to sell.

After the meeting, Luo Qihong convened another company management meeting.

Controlling the board of directors is just a small matter; the key is how to win over these managers.

"Most of you are guessing my identity. I am the chairman and general manager of the company. I am the one who runs the company now." Luo Qihong looked around and continued, "My name is Luo Qihong. As the company's managers, you all know something about the company's situation."

"Yes, the company's business situation is very bad. It's not an exaggeration to say that it's going to go bankrupt. But I want to try my best to see if I can save Hongpu Chemical. If anyone has no hope for the company, they can resign and leave. They will not lose a penny of their salary and compensation."

The current situation is naturally not suitable for talking about company transformation. The most important thing is to stabilize the company first.

As soon as this was said, many people began to stand up and express their desire to resign, asking whether they could really get enough salary and compensation.

"I keep my word. I will pay you what you deserve." Luo Qihong promised in public, "Those who want to resign can leave the meeting room. There will be an important meeting of the company next, and it is not convenient for you to attend."

Luo Qihong wanted to see how many people were left. Now that the company had stopped operations, it did not really need so many managers.

Then, nearly half of the people left the meeting room one after another, the highest-ranking one among them was the department manager.

Luo Qihong said to the remaining staff, "Okay, those who should leave have already left, and those who stay are our own people, so let's officially start our meeting."

"There are a lot of raw materials in the company's warehouse. I have asked people to contact suppliers and ask them to take the raw materials away to pay off debts. However, there are also a lot of finished products in the warehouse. I need you to clear these finished products as soon as possible. The only requirement is that you don't lose money. Can you do it?"

None of the remaining 12 employees dared to respond to Luo Qihong, fearing that they would be the first to be used as an example if they failed to complete the task.

Luo Qihong guessed their concerns, so he smiled and said, "It's okay if you can't sell it. This is the company's extra income. If you sell it, I can give you a 3% commission."

When the topic of commission came up, the employees' eyes lit up and they all expressed their willingness to give it a try.

"Also, I know some of you know a lot of people in the same industry. Now the company is planning to sell industrial patents. Just like before, whoever can find a buyer and complete the transaction will receive a 3% commission." Luo Qihong said.

Some smart employees have started to worry. If even the patents are sold, will the company be able to continue operating?

Of course they didn't dare to ask in person, because it would shake the company's "morale".

After returning to the office, Luo Qihong had just sat down when Deputy General Manager Lu Wenhe knocked on the door and came in.

Luo Qihong and Lu Wenhe had dealt with each other twice and were already somewhat familiar with each other, so he pointed at the chair and said, "Sit down, what do you want to talk to me about?"

"Luo Sheng!" Lu Wenhe hesitated and said, "Then I'll ask directly, do you want to sell the chemical plant?"

Luo Qihong took a sip of water and said, "Vice President Lu, I'm just a real estate developer and I know nothing about the chemical industry, so I want to ask you, do you think the chemical plant can be saved? If it can be saved, how can it be saved?"

This question left Lv Wenhe speechless, but he still wanted to take the interests of the workers into consideration: "If the chemical plant is sold, many workers will lose their jobs."

Luo Qihong was so angry that he laughed, "Hongpu Chemical is on the verge of bankruptcy. If the company goes bankrupt, can they keep their jobs? Vice President Lu, I'm not a philanthropist. I'm not here to spend money to save you."

Luo Qihong knew that once HSBC successfully applied for bankruptcy to the court, everyone would face unemployment. Now he could save some of the employees, but now he was asked to keep everyone's jobs. This was really ridiculous.

Lv Wenhe wanted to continue talking, but Luo Qihong interrupted him with a wave of his hand. "When the company ran away with the money, why didn't Vice President Lu stop it? I am now paying to take over the mess and giving the resigned employees enough salary compensation. I have done my best. I will not and cannot keep everyone's job. If Vice President Lu wants to be Jesus and save everyone, you can go to work for the charity."

"Mr. Luo, you misunderstood what I meant. I just wanted you to try your best to find a way to save some employees' jobs." Lu Wenhe quickly explained.

"I don't need you to remind me of this. I will do my best to be a good person." Luo Qihong continued, "I think what Vice President Lu should do now is to sell the accumulated goods and raise enough wages and compensation for those employees who are about to leave." "Yes! I'll do it right away." Lu Wenhe left.

Luo Qihong's face turned bad in an instant. It was already this late and he was still pretending to be a good guy. If he was really a good guy, he would have found a way to help the company long ago instead of letting the bank file for bankruptcy.

If Luo Qihong didn't still need this person to maintain the current Hongpu Chemical Company, he would have fired him long ago.

After returning to Paramount Company, Luo Qihong immediately summoned Kang Wenyi and asked him to help Hongpu Chemical Company sell the properties that had been untied and recover the funds as soon as possible.

Friday, October 9

Real estate companies such as Paramount, Sun Hung Kai Properties and Sino Land submitted bids for the Century Tower to Hong Kong Land. At 4 p.m., Hong Kong Land's CEO Foo Tat announced the results of the tender.

Sun Hung Kai Properties won the bid for the Century Building project with a 3% premium of HK$5 million, while Paramount's proposal was a 2% premium of HK$4.6 million, ranking third after Sino Land Development.

Luo Qihong seized the opportunity, bought newspapers, and used the results announced by the Jardine Matheson Group to promote the Paramount Group.

As soon as the report came out the next day, Paramount's stock price began to rise slightly, and its market value seemed likely to exceed 6.3 million yuan.

Monday, September 9
Hysan Development Co., Ltd. was listed on the exchange. In the first hour of trading, the share price rose from 2 yuan to 2.7 yuan, an increase of more than 35%, which was a very gratifying growth.

Luo Qihong was sitting in the reception room of Sun Hung Kai Properties, waiting for news from Bai Jinyan. He wanted to buy up the new shares sold by Hysan Development Company.

It was not until half past ten that Bai Jinyan appeared in the reception room. "Paramount Company already holds 10 million shares of Hysan Development Company, spending 112 million yuan. Do we need to continue buying them?"

Luo Qihong thought for a moment and said, "Keep buying. If the stock price rises to 3.5 yuan, you can stop."

"Okay!" Bai Jinyan nodded. "According to the judgment of industry experts, the share price of Hysan Development can rise to 6-7 yuan. In fact, according to the asset value of Hysan Development, the share price can rise to 12 yuan without any problem. However, the Li family has always been low-key, and I am afraid they will not allow the share price to rise too high."

The Lee Hiu-Sin family is powerful but unusually low-key, perhaps because their history of making their fortune at the beginning of the century was not glorious, and they are worried that someone might bring up these things and affect the family's status in Hong Kong.

If the Lee Hysan family did not have a large amount of land in Causeway Bay that needed to be developed and Hysan Development Company was short of funds, it would probably not have gone public to raise money.

Luo Qihong nodded slightly, "I have heard about the Li family's style of doing things. It is enough for the stock price to rise to 6 or 7 yuan."

"Let's talk about something private?" Bai Jinyan saw Luo Qihong nodded in agreement, and said awkwardly, "Aunt Lin asked me to have dinner at Weishan Garden in a few days."

Hearing this, Luo Qihong immediately looked bitter. Lin Ya still didn't give up. Fortunately, Bai Jinyan told him, otherwise it would be embarrassing.

"Should I find an excuse to refuse when the time comes?" Bai Jinyan asked tentatively.

In fact, Bai Jinyan is very optimistic about Luo Qihong. She knows that whether it is Paramount Company or Zhaoan Real Estate Company, she is only in contact with a small part of it. The most important thing is Luo Qihong's personal ability. In just one year, he has built a net worth of more than 4 million yuan from nothing.

If she could marry into the Luo family, it would be just a matter of time for Bai Jinyan to enter the upper class of Hong Kong society, and even the Bai family could cross several classes and become a wealthy family in Hong Kong.

Bai Jinyan really wanted to, but he knew that Luo Qihong was the one who made the decision. As for Lin Ya, she was just working in vain.

Luo Qihong smiled bitterly and said, "You can shirk it this time, and you can shirk it next time, but what about the next time? My mother will always find an opportunity. This won't help much. You should just go."

"Well, okay!" Bai Jinyan could see that Luo Qihong didn't like her, but that didn't matter. What mattered was whether she could take the position of Mrs. Luo.

"I've already told my mother that there's nothing between us, but old people always want to know their daughter-in-law inside and out. You can reveal some information to my mother, otherwise I'm worried that it will hinder you from finding a boyfriend." Luo Qihong said with a faint smile.

Bai Jinyan pursed her lips and nodded, her expression somewhat conflicted, not knowing what she was thinking.

Since the four engineering teams of Fengtu Construction Company all had business, Luo Qihong handed over the decoration projects of the three newly acquired shopping malls to outside companies.

The company they found was very reliable. In just 9 days, they completed the renovation of the three shopping malls as planned, which surprised Luo Qihong a little.

The three shopping malls are located in good locations. As soon as the news was released, buyers came to the door to purchase them. These buyers were very honest and agreed to purchase them at a 3% premium without much discussion.

百乐门公司一下子便从这3个商场身上赚到了238万元，回报率31%，而李家枫投资的2个商场获利67.32万元，回报率高过31%。

The Paramount Company recovered nearly 3 million yuan from the three shopping malls, which made the Paramount Company financially abundant for a while.

Therefore, Luo Qihong asked Liang Botao to speed up the issuance of new shares. After all, the 8 million yuan needed for the new shares was already available.

Tsim Sha Tsui Happy Tea House
Li Jiafeng's father Li Yulong invited Luo Qihong to have dinner in this teahouse and discuss some business projects.

For Li Jiafeng's sake and because Luo Qihong still needed Li Jiafeng's help, he had no choice but to come as invited.

"Mr. Luo, I've heard of your great name for a long time!" Li Yulong stood up and shook hands with Luo Qihong with a bright smile on his face.

Li Yulong has an average appearance, but he has the greasy look of middle-aged and elderly people, and his face is particularly rosy, giving him a radiant look.

"Hello, Mr. Li! You can just call me Ah Hong." Luo Qihong laughed. He was good friends with Li Jiafeng, so he needed to lower his posture in front of Li Yulong.

"Okay." Li Yulong nodded with a smile, "The snacks here are very good. Ah Hong, eat more later."

Luo Qihong smiled slightly, "Yeah!"

Li Yulong began to thank Luo Qihong, saying that he was very happy to see Li Jiafeng making such progress. If it weren't for Luo Qihong, Li Jiafeng might still be lying at home, eating and waiting to die.

Luo Qihong responded naturally and modestly, and praised Li Jiafeng by the way.

(End of this chapter)