Hong Kong 1980: The Savage Era

Chapter 238 [You are too brave]

Backdoor listing may seem like a shortcut, but it is actually very troublesome. For example, the injection of assets and the increase in stock prices are not as good as direct listing. Unfortunately, many of the current listing rules are still strict, so trouble is also a good way, at least the goal is achieved.

With so many companies taking the opportunity to go public, Luo Qixing also became interested. He understood the listing rules and was attracted by the funds raised. These funds could not only solve the debt problem of Shengyun Printing Company, but also be used to expand the business scale of Shengyun Printing Company.

However, he knew that his younger brother Luo Qihong would never agree to it no matter what, because Luo Qihong disagreed with the listing of Jingmou Electronics Company, but it was not convenient for Luo Qihong, an outsider, to stop it.

After the meeting, Luo Qihong saw what his elder brother was thinking and asked with a smile, "Are you envious of Jingmou Electronics' listing?"

Luo Qixing nodded without hesitation. "Going public can get rid of the current debt problem. Shengyun Printing Company needs too much time. I want to shorten it."

"So Shengyun Printing Company has 6 million in funds to acquire a listed company?" Luo Qihong said with a smile. Luo Qihong didn't understand the ins and outs at all. He just saw that listed companies could raise funds.

Luo Qixing never thought that the fundraising would fail. How could Shengyun Printing Company succeed in raising funds? Seeing that Jingmou Electronics Company is currently relying solely on the Chen Zengjing family to transfer assets, and has not dared to talk about fundraising yet.

As for these, Luo Qihong didn't want to say them, because these words would make Luo Qixing develop a rebellious mentality. It would be better to start from the reality in front of him and extinguish the flame of Luo Qixing.

Luo Qixing was speechless for a moment. Shengyun Printing only had operating funds in its account, and it also owed Luo Qihong several million yuan for share acquisitions. It had been dreaming of having enough money to acquire a listed company and go public through a backdoor listing within the past year.

Luo Qihong was too lazy to explain anything. They were all adults and could not always rely on others to achieve success in their careers.

the next afternoon
The Hong Kong government held the first official land auction in 83 with the aim of testing the local market and subsidizing the fiscal deficit as much as possible.

The Hong Kong government has significantly increased taxes since October 82 in an attempt to ease its own financial pressure, but unfortunately it has had little effect, so it has no choice but to put the land up for auction.

Of course, there were no particularly good plots of land in this government land auction. They were just some relatively common plots of land, such as those in Kowloon Bay, To Kwa Wan and Sheung Wan.

After all, Luo Qixing is still his elder brother, so Luo Qihong specially brought him here to experience the intuitive atmosphere of the official land auction, hoping to dispel some of Luo Qixing's unrealistic fantasies.

"Hello! Long time no see, Mr. Xu!" Luo Qihong greeted people along the way, occasionally introducing Luo Qixing to his familiar colleagues.

"Those people just now are all bosses of listed companies. They own at least one listed real estate company. However, these people have a lot of headaches. They only attend the auction to go through the motions and get a glimpse of the rumors surrounding the auction." Luo Qihong introduced the situation to Luo Qixing.

"I heard that no one is willing to auction government land nowadays. Is that true?" Luo Qixing asked.

Luo Qihong smiled and said, "No one knows what will happen in the current market, so if it is not a good piece of land, basically no one will bid for it. Most of the official land is unsold now."

"The same is true for the stock market. It is difficult for companies that are not favored by shareholders to raise funds for rights offerings. Everyone is collecting funds to survive the cold winter."

Luo Qixing nodded. He now understood the purpose of Luo Qihong bringing him here. Gaining experience was secondary. The main purpose was to dissuade him from thinking about going public.

Ten minutes later, the auction began.

The host still used the same old, lengthy opening remarks, which consumed a lot of the real estate developers' patience.

The first piece of land that came out was located in Sheung Wan, near Sai Wan. It was not bad, but it was not very good either. It could only be considered above average.

This piece of land was taken away by a small real estate company at the starting price, which made the real estate developers present worried. Because the real estate market was still corrupt, some real estate developers began to leave.

"It's only the first item to be auctioned, why are they leaving?" Luo Qixing asked puzzledly, his words also raised questions about face and politeness.

"This is a place where people can come and go freely. It's up to people to leave or not. Real estate developers are very frustrated now, so of course they can't care about anything." Luo Qihong explained with a smile. If he didn't have other purposes, he would have wanted to leave. The land at the auction was indeed very cheap, but properties outside were even cheaper.

The land still needs to be built, which requires construction costs, while the property can be rented out immediately to recover some of the costs. The pros and cons are obvious at a glance.

Next, several auction items failed to sell. The locations of these 7 plots of land were really bad. They were either in Kowloon Bay, Yau Tong, To Kwa Wan and Sai Wan. They had no development value at all, no wonder they failed to sell.

The most valuable lot of the entire auction was the 11th lot, a residential land with an area of ​​3.2 square feet located on Sing Wo Road in Causeway Bay, which can be built into a residential building with a floor area of ​​32 square feet. The transaction price was HK$1 million.

Inside the car

Luo Qihong looked at Luo Qixing and smiled and asked, "Brother, how do you feel?"

Luo Qixing said with an unpleasant expression, "I didn't expect the real estate market to be so bad. I looked at the data before and thought there was an opportunity. Now it seems that being a real estate developer is not easy. I think I am under a lot of pressure."

"It's the same in all walks of life. There's a lot of pressure. It's just that the printing industry is in good market conditions right now. Printing will also encounter such a situation. So we can't expand blindly, but expand in a planned way. We need to digest those things quickly." Luo Qihong said earnestly. If it comes to age and family status, it would be inconvenient for him to lecture Luo Qixing.

"Well, let's not talk about Shengyun Printing Company's listing. Let's see if there will be an opportunity in the future." Luo Qixing was very clear about the purpose of this trip, but he did gain some insights.

Luo Qihong smiled and said, "Brother, take your time. There will be more auctions next year with lots of cheap things to be auctioned. As long as you have some spare money, you can still buy good things."

Hearing this, Luo Qixing's eyes widened and glowed, "Is this kind of auction happening today?"

"No, it should be a bankruptcy auction hosted by the bank. The auction items will be several percent lower than the market price." Luo Qihong explained with a smile.

As a result, Luo Qixing was full of fighting spirit again and wanted to run Shengyun Printing Company well and accumulate capital for the auction.

Saturday, May 3

Luo Qihong received the news at home that Luo Xurui, general manager of Palibao Investment Company, had resigned and would no longer hold any position in any subsidiary of Eagle Properties, and had moved out of the villa of the Luo Yingshi family.

This was naturally an act of breaking away from the family, which could be considered a family scandal. Moreover, the Eagle Properties Company was quite famous in Hong Kong, so it caused quite a stir.

Unfortunately, the Luo family remained silent on this. In fact, in 81, there were rumors that Luo Yingshi and his third son Luo Xurui had many disagreements on company affairs. It took two years for the relationship to officially break up, which was considered a good thing.

Luo Qihong knew that this was due to the incompatibility of the styles of the two father and son. As the older generation, Luo Yingshi naturally wanted to do business in a stable manner, while Luo Xurui wanted to rapidly expand the family's strength through quick acquisitions.

Today's Regal Hotel and Paliburg Investment Company are among Luo Xurui's achievements, but such crazy expansion has also brought a huge debt to the Eagle Properties Company. Now that the crisis has arrived, Luo Yingshi is certainly unhappy.

The conflict between father and son has been going on for a long time, so how could it end smoothly?

You have to know that Luo Xurui is a very capable person, and Luo Yingshi is a tycoon in the business world. How could they be willing to lower themselves to their son? Therefore, Luo Xurui had no choice but to leave the family and become independent.

At this time, Luo Qihong believed that Luo Xurui had not completely left the family, but had planted many secret stakes in the Eagle Properties Group. The biggest secret staker was Wei Li, the boss of Asia Securities, who was a shareholder and board member of the Regal Hotel.

In other words, although Luo Xurui left the family, he still kept an eye on the family business headed by the Regal Hotel. After a little thought, Luo Qihong thought this was a good opportunity. He would have more and more affairs, and it seemed to be a good deal now.

Harbour City a few days later
Luo Xurui and Wei Li pushed the door open with happy expressions on their faces. Luo Qihong, who was sitting on the sofa, also stood up to greet them.

The three of them simply shook hands and exchanged a few words before getting down to business.

"I wonder what Mr. Luo wants to meet us for?" Wei Li asked Luo Qihong.

Luo Qihong glanced at Luo Xurui and said, "Mr. Luo, Mr. Wei Li, we said a year ago that we would meet and talk, but unfortunately we were too busy and were delayed for so long."

"I heard that Great Eagle Properties is heavily in debt, and its subsidiaries, Regal Hotels and Paliburg Investments, are not immune. But I think this is a good project. What do you think?"

Luo Xurui frowned and asked, "Is this the cooperation plan that Luo Sheng mentioned a year ago?"

Luo Xurui was a little frightened. Could it be that Luo Qihong had foreseen today's business environment a year ago?
Luo Qihong naturally shook his head and said, "This is not the plan from a year ago. The plan from a year ago is no longer valid. The current plan was made in the past one or two months."

Luo Xurui heaved a sigh of relief for some reason. He really didn't believe that there was such a wicked person. But soon he became angry again. Luo Qihong's intention was very clear. He had ill intentions towards the Rich Hotel.

"Mr. Luo wants to acquire the Regal Hotel?" Luo Xurui asked with mixed feelings. He had already fallen out with his family, and Luo Yingshi was very dissatisfied with him and might not be willing to sell the Regal Hotel to him, his rebellious son.

Therefore, once Luo Qihong intervenes, he is likely to lose the Regal Hotel and the Palibao Investment Company that he has carefully built. This is something he cannot afford, as these two companies are an important part of his plan.

"You can say yes, but you can also say no." Luo Qihong smiled faintly. "I know that you, Luo Sheng, are also determined to get the Rich Hotel, but your relationship with your father..."

Luo Qihong did not say what was behind the relationship, but changed the subject, "Actually, I would rather cooperate with Mr. Luo and Mr. Wei Li. This will benefit both of us."

Luo Xurui didn't dare to offend Luo Qihong, because without the protection of his family, he was not a match for Luo Qihong as he had not grown up yet. Even if Wei Li was added, Wei Li would not fight to the death with Luo Qihong for him.

"Mr. Luo, can you please tell me how we can cooperate?" Luo Xurui asked helplessly with some frustration.

"Simple! I won't hinder Luo Sheng from taking back the two companies, the Regal Hotel and Palibao Investment Company. I know that these are Luo Sheng's foundation." Luo Qihong smiled, "I just hope to make a profit from it. I also hope that we can cooperate more in the future. There are many opportunities to make money in Hong Kong."

Wei Li interrupted at this time and said, "Luo Sheng is very optimistic about the future of Hong Kong. Isn't he worried that Hong Kong will be taken back?"

"Mr. Wei Li, there will be a transition period before it is taken back. I believe it will be a relatively long period of time, enough for us to cooperate on many projects." Luo Qihong smiled politely.

Wei Li nodded and said, "Luo Sheng is really confident. There may not be a businessman in Hong Kong who is more confident than Luo Sheng."

"Mr. Wei Li, how can you achieve success without the courage and confidence? I think you are also a very confident person, but our views are slightly different. Otherwise, Asia Securities Company would not continue to expand its business." Luo Qihong counterattacked.

"Haha!! Luo Sheng is indeed not comparable to those idiots." Wei Li suddenly laughed, his voice carrying a hint of heartiness and joy.

In fact, there were some frictions in business between Dean Securities Investment Company and Asia Securities Company, but both sides avoided them tacitly and no major unpleasantness occurred.

"Wei Li, what do you think of Luo Sheng's suggestion?" Luo Xurui asked Wei Li. Obviously, he had reached an agreement with Wei Li, and now he needed to share some cake from Wei Li's plate with Luo Qihong.

Wei Li suddenly became serious. Even though the Regal Hotel and Palibao Investment Company had suffered serious losses, it could not conceal the quality of these two companies. With just a little operation, the assets of these two companies could be revitalized.

This is a very high-quality project, and Wei Li believes that Asia Securities and Luo Xurui are fully capable of completing this project without having to share profits with Luo Qihong.

"What do you two think about the crisis caused by Jianing Company?" Luo Qihong asked in confusion.

This made the two of them a little confused. What exactly did Luo Qihong mean? What did it have to do with cooperation?

"The Rich Hotel's business isn't big enough to support the three of us in making a profit, so let's make it bigger. Mr. Luo, Mr. Wei Li, are you willing to take this risk together?" Luo Qihong further explained.

Luo Xurui was surprised. "Mr. Luo wants to swallow up Jianing Company? Chen Songqing is not a simple person."

Luo Qihong shook his head. "How is that possible? The Regal Hotel does not have such great strength. I mean that we should swallow up some of the better subsidiaries of Jianing Company and expand the scale of the Regal Hotel. Only in this way can we satisfy our interests."

Luo Xurui always thought that he was a bold man, but he didn't expect Luo Qihong to be even bolder and more crazy. However, he was still very worried. The Rich Hotel could not take any more risks.

"If we refuse, will Luo Sheng snipe at us?" Luo Xurui asked bluntly.

Luo Qihong still shook his head and said, "No, but I will invest heavily in the Regal Hotel. I don't want to miss such a good investment opportunity."

"I know that Luo Sheng is worried that this plan will bring new crises to the Regal Hotel. What if we can sign a mutual assistance agreement? Our fates are tied together. I think Luo Sheng should be more relieved, right?"

Seeing how determined Luo Qihong was, Luo Xurui was suddenly shaken. It would be a good idea to expand the Rich Hotel with the help of Luo Qihong's power.

"How confident is Luo Sheng that he will succeed?"

"6%! I think Jianing Company can no longer hold on and is about to go bankrupt." Luo Qihong expressed his opinion, trying to convince Luo Xurui and the silent Wei Li.

"This plan is really too big. Can I go back and think about it first?" Luo Xurui didn't dare to agree on the spot, fearing that some information might be missed.

"Of course, I'll give Mr. Luo and Mr. Weili half a month. The situation at Jianing Company is a bit complicated."

Luo Xurui and Wei Li looked at each other and then agreed.

"How did Luo Sheng know that I was determined to acquire the Rich Hotel?" Luo Xurui asked curiously.

Luo Qihong smiled and said, "Because Luo Sheng and I are the same type of people, we like to take risks when we are weak, and we don't like to give up our hard work. I think Luo Sheng should have been planning for a long time, right?"

"Mr. Luo really has a keen eye. Did he see that from the battle of China Bus Company?" Luo Xurui asked.

"No, it was when Mr. Wei Li became the director of the Regal Hotel that I realized that Eagle Properties was fully capable of developing a hotel, but they let Mr. Wei Li invest in it, which was obviously a concession."

Luo Xurui thought about it and felt that Luo Qihong was really too attentive to be able to guess even such a small anomaly to this extent.

(End of this chapter)