Hong Kong 1980: The Savage Era

Chapter 234 [Multiple Acquisitions]

While I was still dealing with the bank, the Spring Festival of 83 arrived as scheduled.

According to Hong Kong custom, there are holidays from the first to the fifth day of the Chinese New Year, for a total of 5 days.

It is called a holiday, but in fact it is the family visit period for the Chinese. They need to deal with a large number of relatives, which seems to be more tiring than working days.

Of course, Luo Qihong's vacation was not just for visiting relatives. He spent more time entertaining business partners, including Cheng Yutong of Chow Tai Fook Jewellery and the Chen Zengjing family of Jingmou Electronics.

It was not until the fourth day of the Lunar New Year that Luo Qihong finished visiting relatives and friends. The reason was not because he had finished visiting, but because of the rules. The fourth day of the Lunar New Year was not suitable for visiting people. On the fifth day, he still had four families to visit.

Lin Ya was using a calculator to calculate how much money she had spent in the previous three days, including the money for red envelopes, while the Luo Qihong and his brother were lying on the sofa watching TV, and Luo Zegui was reading newspapers and occasionally talking about the contents of the newspapers.

"Huh!" Lin Ya sighed heavily, staring at the number 7459 on the paper. "We are losing a lot of money on Feng Li Shi. The payment exceeds 5 yuan, which is two months' salary for the workers."

Luo Qihong smiled. Lin Ya was still the frugal woman. It was unlikely that she would change her life philosophy after so many years. "This is not the big part. When the company opens the day after tomorrow, the big part will be the bonus."

Hearing this, Lin Ya's face turned even worse. Shengyun Printing Company has dozens to nearly a hundred employees, and it is not something that can be dismissed with just a few thousand dollars, but the money is definitely unavoidable.

"Ah Hong, how much red envelopes do you plan to give to your employees today?" Luo Zegui asked, so as to have a reference.

Luo Qihong smiled and said, "1 yuan each. We gave them some bonuses before the New Year, so let's give them a little less this time."

You have to know that Luo Qihong has hundreds of employees under him, and it would cost tens of thousands or even hundreds of thousands of yuan just to give out red envelopes.

The scale of Shengyun Printing is not that large, and Luo Zegui and Luo Qixing are not Luo Qihong, who is so wealthy, so Luo Zegui wanted to cut the red envelope in half, giving each person 50 yuan.

Lin Ya was still a little reluctant and said it would be better to seal each one for 20 yuan, which would save a lot of money.

But Luo Qixing was unwilling to do so, saying that he couldn't be too stingy, otherwise the employees would be upset and it would affect their work. Besides, it was a small amount of money, so he agreed with Luo Zegui's suggestion of 50 yuan.

"Mom, we can't save this money. If Shengyun Printing Company wants to grow bigger, it still has to rely on these workers to work hard and make money for us." Luo Qihong closed his eyes with a smile on his lips.

Lin Ya suddenly changed the subject and said happily, "Do you know why Wu Xingchao was not at the party this year? Why is Lin Ying so low-key?"

Luo Zegui and his two sons were slightly stunned. They remembered something, but didn't care too much, so no one paid attention to Lin Ya, leaving her talking to herself.

"Wu Xingchao was engaged in securities investment. The current stock market is not doing well. A lot of people lost their money in Wu Xingchao's hands. Those people came to his door, and Wu Xingchao was worried that he would be beaten to death, so he has now run away." Lin Ya said excitedly and happily.

"Okay, we are all relatives, why do you want to add insult to injury? It won't sound good if it gets out." Luo Zegui scolded softly.

"Hmph! What do you mean by kicking someone when they are down? I didn't do anything. I was just talking. Why didn't you comfort me when she was showing off and belittling me all day? Now you are talking about this again." Lin Ya was immediately unhappy and blamed Luo Zegui.

Luo Qihong realized that it was the beginning of the new year and it was not appropriate to say such things. He also did not want Lin Ya to be unhappy, so he stood up and went over to comfort Lin Ya.

"Forget it, I have my son. As for you, do whatever you want. I don't want to pay attention to you." Lin Ya put away the things on the table, hugged her proudly and left the living room.

Even in the New Year, some minor family conflicts are inevitable. This is the norm in life.

There are also families who celebrate the New Year in a polite manner, as if they were entertaining guests, such as the Chen Zengjing family. After lunch, the younger generation goes off to have fun on their own.

There is no such thing as adjusted holidays in Hong Kong. After the Spring Festival holiday, you work one day and then have two days off.

Monday, September 2
Since it was the second day of work after the Spring Festival holiday, many employees were in good spirits and had a lot of joy on their faces.

Luo Qihong was also relatively relaxed. He had already cleared out the crowded official duties before the New Year and made arrangements for the projects and plans that were not completed before the New Year, so there was not much to do for the time being.

I picked up the newspaper and the first piece of news I saw was about the liquidation of a real estate company. The content showed that the guarantor of many company loans was the operator, so even if it went bankrupt, the operator would still be heavily in debt and have to repay the difference in the loan.

Nearly half of the following report was devoted to describing the bankruptcy of a certain company. The scale and number of bankruptcies were so large that Luo Qihong was stunned.

Not only that, several small financial companies have also declared bankruptcy, but the loan businesses of the financial companies have been sold at a discount to other larger financial companies or banks, and there is no situation where borrowers do not have to repay the money.

Rumors of capital flight are becoming more and more frequent and intense, and property prices on the market have hit new lows. Nowadays, many properties are willing to be sold at 5% lower than the market price because people are worried about losing all their money.

As more and more companies go bankrupt, Hong Kong's unemployment rate has skyrocketed. It has now exceeded 7.1%, which means that nearly 30 workers are unemployed.

As Luo Qihong tightened the capital expenditure of Zhaoan Real Estate Company and Dehe Real Estate Company, not many properties were acquired. Yang Mingkun of Fengtu Construction Company was very anxious and hoped to get more renovation projects from Luo Qihong.

Luo Qihong clearly replied to him that he had underestimated the impact of the crash and that he could not throw too much money into the still falling market. However, Luo Qihong still borrowed 3 million yuan from his private funds to Fengtu Construction Company, which could allow the company to survive for another half a year.

By the second half of 83, Luo Qihong decided that it was enough and he could buy some cheap old commercial buildings.

Fengtu Construction Company was turned into a favor-based enterprise under Yang Mingkun's management. Before the crash, Luo Qihong explicitly asked him to cut the number of workers. Unfortunately, Yang Mingkun acted on his own and only cut a quarter of the workers. Although this did not increase expenses, it also brought a huge burden to the company.

If it weren't for Luo Qihong's backing, Fengtu Construction Company would have gone bankrupt long ago.

However, Luo Qihong still admired Yang Mingkun a little. In Hong Kong, where economics and money are the key, it is indeed rare to find a partner who values ​​human relationships. He would save as many as he could.

The news paper said that the Hong Kong River is now in the center of the storm. The gloomy atmosphere indicates that a new storm is brewing, which will be more severe than the current storm, so citizens should be prepared to deal with it.

Luo Qihong stared at the analysis news for a long time, unwilling to take his eyes off it. He didn't expect that someone would dare to say such words.

He knew that the storm would only come when the upper-level wealthy people had done their jobs well. The reason why the storm had not escalated at this time was that the rich people were working together to suppress it in order to escape smoothly.

"Alas! Capital is ultimately a man-eating tiger." Luo Qihong shook his head, with helplessness and sadness on his face.
There was another report that made Luo Qihong think deeply. The Carrian Company announced that it had appointed Hengbao Finance and Waldo Company as representatives to discuss the restructuring plan with creditors including more than 70 banks and financial companies.

Carrian also hired John Boyle, former vice chairman of HSBC Bank in the UK, as a representative of the creditor bank at a monthly salary of HK$10 and he joined the Carrian board of directors.

The debt restructuring of Carrian was formulated on the classic principle of debt-for-equity, with debt reduced by selling its subsidiaries.

In Luo Qihong's opinion, the plan had little hope of success, and the reason was that Jianing Company's profits were fictitious and Jianing Company's assets were all borrowed.

The current market conditions are even worse. The value of properties and companies have been greatly reduced. How can we pay off the debts from the peak period?

He held the newspaper and thought deeply. He must choose a suitable time to negotiate with the Carrian Company to first acquire 21% of the shares of Nikkatsu Film Company and control the Nikkatsu Film Company.

In the afternoon, several people sat in the office again, seemingly discussing something. "Boss, the three creditor banks are willing to sell us the nine industrial buildings pledged by Jianian Real Estate Company at a price of 3 yuan per square foot, and the total amount of funds required is 20 million yuan," Chen Zhilong said.

"Good, in this case, we have saved another 5 million yuan." Luo Qihong's face was even more delighted. "Sign a contract with the creditor bank as soon as possible to take over the nine industrial buildings to avoid any accidents in the process."

"Yes! Boss!" Chen Zhilong glanced at Cheng Jianshen casually. In his heart, Cheng Jianshen was his opponent. Kang Wenyi was still a little inferior to him. His vision and ability were not as good as his.

Unexpectedly, Cheng Jianshen ignored Chen Zhilong's provocative look and suggested, "Jianian Real Estate Company still has some high-quality properties and land. Should we buy them all?"

Luo Qihong was silent for a moment and did not respond to Cheng Jianshen's suggestion.

"I have already questioned some banks, and they all think that our Zhaoan Real Estate Company is an extremely high-quality enterprise. They are all willing to lend us money at low interest rates." Cheng Jianshen continued to instigate.

"Are they those creditor banks?" Luo Qihong suddenly reacted.

Cheng Jianshen nodded and said, "These banks have a lot of bad debts and a lot of funds that need to be invested, otherwise they will have to pay a lot of interest."

"How much can they borrow?" Luo Qihong continued to ask.

Chen Zhilong next to him looked a little unhappy. He didn't expect Cheng Jianshen to be so scheming and actually do this.

"5%! But it seems that they really want to promote this project, and the price of the property land should still have room for reduction. Without your consent, I did not discuss with them in depth." Cheng Jianshen said seriously.

"What is the estimated value of these properties?" Luo Qihong said, "The heavy debt is not a good thing for Zhaoan Real Estate Company. No one knows how long this big negotiation will last."

"About 5 million. The bank is willing to sell it at 8% of the current market price." Cheng Jianshen replied.

Luo Qihong shook his head. "8% is too high. My bottom line is 7%. A new crash is brewing. Property prices will fall further. Don't let the banks take too much advantage."

"I'm worried that if the price is too low, it will scare away the banks. It would be better to lower it a little bit, which will be good for everyone."

Luo Qihong laughed and said, "Tsk! Jianshen, the bank's interest is not in the property, because it is already a bad debt for them. Their real purpose is to collect profits from Zhaoan Real Estate's loan."

"Well, I'll talk to the bank again. Maybe we can get it lower than 7%."

Seeing that the matter of Jianian Real Estate was settled, Chen Zhilong brought up a new topic, "There's news from De'an Securities Investment Company that we have acquired 20% of the shares of Baohua Construction Company. If we continue to acquire more, we may be exposed."

"We are 35% away from the bottom line of full acquisition, and there is still a 15% equity gap. Should we start meeting with those small shareholders?"

Luo Qihong thought for a moment and said, "Since we have come to this point, let's get started."

"Boss, we don't have much money left, what should we do?" Chen Zhilong talked about the new problem.

Luo Qihong didn't want to use the US dollars, so he could only apply for a bank loan. "Look for a bank to see how much loan they can provide. I can mortgage all the shares of Baohua Construction Company."

"Okay, then I'll contact the bank myself." Chen Zhilong's expression turned from gloomy to bright.

Cheng Jianshen suddenly had an idea and smiled, "If we can combine the property loan of Jia Nian Real Estate Company and the acquisition loan of Baohua Construction Company, the price of the property should be as low as 5% of the market price."

This is a blatant robbery project.

Chen Zhilong was completely stunned. Cheng Jianshen actually tried to interfere in the acquisition of Baohua Construction Company.

"Well! Then you can discuss it with Mr. Chen. If you can lower the price by 5%, the loan can be provided by those banks together." Luo Qihong immediately appointed the person in charge of the acquisition loan to avoid disputes, delays in the acquisition, and unnecessary losses.

"Okay!" Cheng Jianshen said with a faint smile.

Chen Zhilong wanted to stop him, but unfortunately Luo Qihong didn't give him a chance.

In Luo Qihong's opinion, the acquisition of Baohua Construction Company was imminent, and Chen Zhilong had a heavy workload. Even with his support, it was hard to say that there would be no unexpected situations, so he assigned some of the work to Cheng Jianshen.

In 81, Wheelock Shipping Company ordered two cargo ships from a Danish shipyard with a total value of more than 2 million US dollars. Now in 4, they are almost completed, but the global shipping industry has been in recession and Wheelock Shipping is under great pressure.

At this time, John Madden could only seek financial support from a real estate trust company in the same family and wanted to borrow 1 million US dollars.

The Real Estate Trust Company has so much funds, all of which come from shareholders' fundraising, and the major shareholder of the Real Estate Trust Company is Zhang Yuliang's family, so the Real Estate Trust Company rejected the shipping company's request.

John Madden even found Zhang Yuliang in person, but the conflict between the two had a long history and they had a lot of friction in the late 70s. Naturally, Zhang Yuliang would not give face to John Madden again.

John Madden, who regarded face as wealth, was of course very angry, but there was nothing he could do because Zhang Yuliang had disapproved of such a large-scale investment in shipping in the early 80s. Unfortunately, John Madden insisted on his own way, and now it can only be regarded as retribution.

Moreover, Wheelock & Company is already very weak, while Zhang Yuliang's family is still very strong. John Madden cannot defeat Zhang Yuliang at all. The most important thing now is to resolve the current crisis.

John Madden had no choice but to borrow 4 million US dollars from the parent company to solve the urgent problem, but the conflict between the two was intensified.

Luo Qihong's face turned heavy as he looked at the news report. He dreamed of taking over Henderson Land Development and completing the construction of the most basic structure.

However, he is now entangled in the acquisition cases of Baohua Construction Company and Huaguang Real Estate Company. He has no energy or extra funds for layout. Moreover, he always feels that there will be a more appropriate time, and now is not the most appropriate time.

"Huh!" Luo Qihong let out a long sigh and said to himself, "The charter king in my previous life spent 25 billion to acquire Wheelock. Even if I act in advance, I can only save 5% of the funds at most, which still requires 13 billion in cash."

13 billion yuan of funds was the market value of Zhaoan Real Estate during its heyday. It was unlikely that Luo Qihong would spend all his money to take over Wheelock. Moreover, Wheelock was heavily in debt and still needed a large amount of funds to reverse the loss.

Then the required funds would not be 13 billion yuan, but perhaps more than 20 billion yuan.

However, this is a good opportunity to set an ambush, and Luo Qihong will definitely not let it go.

"Let's wait and see. Perhaps the Japanese stock market and local markets can give me a surprise."

Luo Qihong continued reading and saw in the report that small shareholders of Wheelock Group had already started to get restless and wanted to sell off before the stock price hit bottom.

However, these shareholders have not made up their minds yet. They seem to still believe that Wheelock and Company, one of the four major trading companies in Hong Kong, can still be saved, or that someone will acquire Wheelock and Company.

(End of this chapter)