Hong Kong 1980: The Savage Era

Chapter 168 [Absorbing Cinemas]

To outsiders, the Carrian Company was a behemoth that possessed the same formidable power as those large British companies that had been established for decades. If provoked, they would be severely suppressed.

Therefore, even New World Development does not want to be an enemy of Carrian Company. After all, Cheng Yu-tung adheres to the principle of "harmony brings wealth".

Luo Qihong was different. He knew that Jianing Company was only strong on the outside but weak on the inside, and that it would soon "negotiate with the mainland". Even if Jianing Company reacted now, it would be too late to remedy the situation, as the collapse of the building was already inevitable.

He was just trying to take advantage of the situation in advance. Even if Chen Songqing really wanted to target Zhaoan Real Estate or its other companies, he was not afraid, because Chen Songqing's influence was still limited to Hong Kong. As long as he contracted the front line, Chen Songqing would be helpless.

Jianing Company pursues the strategy of stacking acquisitions and has developed based on bank loans. Once it stops acquiring, problems will immediately become apparent.

This is also one of the reasons why Luo Qihong dared to "rob" Chen Songqing.

If Luo Qihong were to run the Jianing Company, to solve the debt problem, he would have to learn from the former boss of Hutchison Whampoa, Werner, and sell off all of its poorly performing companies to recover funds and resolve the debt.

Of course, Jianing Company can also solve the problem by raising funds through issuing shares, but it may be difficult to raise all the funds for the debt of tens of billions of yuan.

the next afternoon
Zhaoan Real Estate Company and Jianing Company held a joint press conference and announced to the public that Zhaoan Real Estate Company withdrew the acquisition plan and sold its 14% stake in Jie Lian Enterprise Company at the invitation of Jianing Company.

6% of the shares have been sold on the stock market, with a total of 1 million yuan in funds raised and a profit margin of 1%.

So the reporter began to ask whether Zhaoan Real Estate Company had any shady dealings in this move and whether it had deceived shareholders.

Luo Qihong naturally denied such doubts. Acquisition is a business behavior. As long as it is beneficial to the company's profits, he, as the operator of the company, must adopt the plan.

Zhaoan Real Estate Company is only responsible to the company's shareholders and stockholders, and is not responsible to anyone from other companies.

At the same time, Luo Qihong announced publicly that Zhaoan Real Estate Company made a profit of 2 million yuan from this project.

With the release of a series of good news, the stock price of Zhaoan Real Estate Company ushered in a big rise.

Baoxiang Film Studio
Luo Qihong came here to visit Guan Jiahui and showed his face to make his presence felt.

With Jiahui around, Luo Qihong's plan to seduce Cherie Chung has lost hope. He can only think of other ways. Fortunately, he hasn't taken that step yet, otherwise it would be impossible for him to seduce Cherie Chung.

"How was your work today?" Luo Qihong sat next to her, watching Guan Jiahui drink water.

Guan Jiahui curled her lips and complained, "The work here is much harder than being an agent. I wouldn't have come here to do this job if I had known."

Luo Qihong laughed and said, "The staff behind the scenes are paid their hard-earned money. The same is true for the actors. You see they look glamorous in front of people, but they also work very hard behind the scenes."

"I understand. When can I make money like you?" Guan Jiahui said with some envy.

Luo Qihong smiled and did not respond. In his opinion, if Guan Jiahui had a lot of money, she would probably fly away and be out of control.

"Mr. Luo, do you have some free time? I have a project I want to discuss with you." Hong Jinbao stood in the distance for a long time before walking over.

Luo Qihong nodded when he heard this, "Okay, let's talk."

In a small office
Cen Jianxun had been waiting inside for a long time. When he saw Luo Qihong, he called out "Mr. Luo!"

Although Luo Qihong was very young, he was a major shareholder and had control. He could even use some means to kick Cen Jianxun and Hong Jinbao out of Baoxiang Film Company. Luo Qihong nodded, sat down and asked, "Just tell me what it is."

"Mr. Luo, you should know that what our film company is most worried about is the release of the films, and now the cinema chains are mainly controlled by three major companies. However, Shaw Brothers Film Company recently announced that it wants to rent out its cinema chains. We want to take them out, so we came to ask for your opinion." Sammul Chan and Sammo Hung looked at each other and said.

In the late 70s, Golden Harvest Entertainment and Shaw Brothers Films fought fiercely, and finally defeated the old overlord Shaw Brothers Films. Today, Shaw Brothers Films has become semi-retired, and rarely releases new films.

However, Shaw Brothers Film Company still has some influence in the Hong Kong film industry. Its cinemas and theater chains are all playing a role and collecting a large amount of rent every year.

If the head of TVB, Lee Ho-wo, had not passed away last summer, Run Run Shaw would have taken the opportunity to be elected as the general manager of TVB and he would probably not have easily let go of his influence in the film industry.

Nowadays, with the rise of a large number of film companies, it has become impossible for Golden Harvest Entertainment to reproduce the glorious era of Shaw Brothers Film Company. Therefore, Zou Wenhuai of Golden Harvest Entertainment did not restrict artists from establishing companies. As a result, many people wanted to challenge the status of Golden Harvest Entertainment. Sammo Hung and Sammul Sham of Pao Cheung Film Company were among them.

The current cinema chains are very valuable, but the income is not very stable. Run Run Shaw has devoted himself to the operation and management of TVB and naturally does not have much energy to continue managing the cinema chains.

"How much rent do Shaw Brothers want per year?" Luo Qihong asked solemnly.

"1 million yuan in rent per year!" replied Cen Jianxun.

Baoxiang Film Company does not have this amount of funds. The two people's proposal clearly hopes that Luo Qihong can find a way. After all, 1 million yuan is not a small number.

"Should the rent be paid in advance or at the end of the term?" Luo Qihong asked again.

"Mr. Luo, the other party wants to pay in advance, but according to our estimates, the profit of Shaw Brothers Film Company's cinema chain in the year before last and last year was not even 1 million yuan. So we can lower the price, probably to 1 million yuan. At the same time, we can convince the other party to pay a down payment of 2% to 3%, and the rest will be settled at the end of the year." Cen Jianxun presented the plan he had thought of.

Both of them looked at Luo Qihong, hoping that he would agree.

"1% of 3 million is 3 million. Do you want me to pay this 3 million?" Luo Qihong said.

Baoxiang Film Company belongs to everyone, there is no reason for Luo Qihong to pay this money.

Sham Kin-Hsun explained, "Mr. Luo has misunderstood! We are planning to set up another company to take over the cinema chain of Shaw Brothers Film Company, and we will also jointly manage it."

"The new company needs to raise about 4 million yuan, and we can subscribe for equity according to the investment ratio."

Luo Qihong smiled and said, "You guys are the ones who manage the company, so you should have some technical shares. How about this, each of you will have 5% more technical management, and the remaining 90% will be used to subscribe for equity according to your investment."

"Thank you, Mr. Luo!" Sammo Hung and Sammul Chan agreed happily.

"No need to thank me, this is what you deserve." Luo Qihong waved his hand and said, "How much do you plan to invest and how much equity do you plan to subscribe for?"

"Luo Sheng, you can own 50% of the shares, and Sanmao (Hong Jinbao's nickname) and I will each own 25%. What do you think?"

Luo Qihong nodded and said, "Okay, then we will subscribe according to this ratio. How do you plan to negotiate with Run Run Shaw? How many years of contract will you sign? At what ratio will the rent increase each year?"

"We plan to sign a three-year contract, with the rent increasing by 3% every year," said Sham Kin-fung. "The theater owned by Shaw Brothers Film Company is already old, and I plan to ask Run Run Shaw to rent it out on the condition that he renovates it for free."

Luo Qihong nodded. This was a good opportunity to bring some work to Fengtu Construction Company and also give the new company a discount. "Okay, this plan is great. You guys should be responsible for negotiating with Run Run Shaw and the others. I won't show up."

(End of this chapter)