Hong Kong 1980: The Savage Era

Chapter 243 [Crude and Indifferent Means]

However, people are greedy, and there are some enemies nearby. Even if Luo Qihong makes concessions, it will not be so easy to get through.

"It's only 2 million US dollars. Each of us will get only a little. Mr. Luo's conditions are still not attractive enough." The director who spoke looked at Kudo Ueki who was sitting in the first seat.

Luo Qihong smiled faintly and said, "I'm afraid this gentleman has misunderstood my meaning. I am not giving up profits to get everyone to support me. I just don't want to cause tension in the board of directors. It doesn't matter whether you support me or not. This will only allow me to stay in Japan for a longer time."

As soon as these words came out, the director's face turned red. "Mr. Luo holds 45.2% of the company's shares, but he still needs the support of others."

"Since the conditions are not attractive, I'd better take back my promise. You can do whatever you want. Mr. Kudo Ueki, I think we should start voting." Luo Qihong still felt sorry for the 2 million US dollars, but now he has taken it back openly.

The directors were dumbfounded. They had been thinking of sitting on the mountain and watching the tigers fight, reaping the benefits, but now they got nothing.

Kudo Ueki glanced at Luo Qihong, and seeing that no one wanted to continue speaking, he announced the start of the election for the new chairman of the board of directors.

After half an hour of voting and counting, Luo Qihong finally accounted for 49.6% and Kudo Ueki accounted for 46.9%.

Luo Qihong won with a relatively narrow advantage and was elected as the chairman of the board of directors of Nikkatsu Film Company. As a result, the group of directors who opposed and made things difficult for Luo Qihong began to feel uncomfortable, fearing that Luo Qihong would retaliate and clean them out.

Luo Qihong said, "Thank you to the directors and shareholders who voted for me! Since I am a newcomer, I naturally need a new look, so I suggest that directors Mr. Matsushita Sasuke and Mr. Shuxia Yahei serve as executive directors and deputy executive directors, responsible for the company's production and distribution."

The directors who were advised by Luo Qihong to seize power looked at each other in bewilderment. They did not expect Luo Qihong to act so quickly. They all looked at Kudo Ueki, who was still sitting in the first seat, and asked for his help.

"Mr. Luo, you just came to the company and you are not very clear about the company's situation. Why don't you put this suggestion on hold for now?" Kudo Ueki said stiffly. He felt that Luo Qihong would not agree, but he couldn't just sit back and watch.

Luo Qihong looked around, raised his lip and said, "I really don't know, but Mr. Matsushita Sasuke and Mr. Shuxia Yahei are both old members of the board of directors. They should be no more unfamiliar with the company's situation than Mr. Kudo."

"Well, it all depends on the votes of the directors."

The directors began to discuss privately. The current situation was very clear. Kudo Ueki had lost control of the board of directors, and Luo Qihong was the new upstart.

As a result, most of the directors wisely stood on Luo Qihong's side, asking him not to settle accounts with them.

"Since more than 7% of the directors raised their hands, they will not be counted. The proposal is passed. Mr. Matsushita Sasuke and Mr. Jūshita Hachi are elected as executive directors."

"Clap!" applause rang out and echoed in the conference room.

As the saying goes, a new official starts with three things!

Luo Qihong had just set the first fire, and the next step was to strike while the iron was hot with the second fire.

"I think you are all very clear about the company's current situation. To put it more seriously, the company is already on the brink of bankruptcy. Now we must increase revenue and reduce expenditure. So I suggest firing some employees and adjusting the positions of management staff above the supervisor level to revitalize the company." Luo Qihong said seriously.

Kudo Ueki frowned immediately. Luo Qihong actually wanted to get involved in the daily management of the company. That was his last resort. If losing control of the board of directors was inevitable, then losing the daily management team would be fatal.

"Mr. Luo, the company's personnel arrangements are very reasonable. I just made adjustments some time ago. I don't think there is a need for further adjustments for the time being. In addition, no one, including the two executive directors, knows the company's personnel arrangements as well as I do."

Luo Qihong laughed and said, "If there is no problem with Mr. Kudo's arrangement, the company should have improved a long time ago, instead of being like it is now. I need to be responsible to the board of directors, the company and the majority of shareholders. Is it Mr. Kudo who is responsible if there is a problem?" "And as the chairman, I have the right to adjust the company's personnel without Mr. Kudo's permission."

Luo Qihong believed that he must have some control over the company. If Kudo Ueki gave up some rights at the beginning of the meeting, he might have shown mercy, but Kudo Ueki just stood by and watched. The rights he now had were all won by himself, so there was no need to save face for Kudo Ueki.

"Okay, let's take a vote." Kudo Ueki was also helpless. If he agreed to take responsibility, who knew what people like Luo Qihong would do.

This vote surprised Luo Qihong a little, as Kudo Ueki actually won with a slight advantage.

This means that Luo Qihong cannot make large-scale personnel adjustments and can only transfer positions in some departments that he cares about. There will be no major changes to the current management structure, which will make it easier for Kudo Ueki to continue to influence the company.

After the meeting, Luo Qihong discussed with the two executive directors and took control of the cinema chain company, and the rest was divided among the two executive directors.

A newly refurbished office

The two executive directors walked out. Bai Jinyan moved his butt towards Luo Qihong and whispered, "If we don't get the right to cut personnel, will Kudo Ueki fight back?"

Luo Qihong touched his chin and was silent for a while. "It is possible that we will suffer some heavy losses and regain control of the board of directors. This is why I want to lay off a large number of employees."

"Now an accident has occurred, but the situation is not that troublesome. Matsushita Sasuke and Jūshita Hachi are both smart people. They should know that if they don't want to lose their status, they must guard against Kudo Ueki's counterattack, otherwise they will end up in a miserable situation."

"Then should we place our hopes on those two Japanese?" Bai Jinyan was worried that the Japanese would collude with each other and eventually isolate Luo Qihong's side.

Luo Qihong shook his head in frustration. "What we need to do now is to take control of the financial department so that we can control the scope of the trouble."

"Well, the new manager of the finance department has been selected. He is quite capable and a Chinese who has been in Japan for 13 years. He should be relatively reliable." Bai Jinyan said.

"People's hearts are hidden! It's hard to say that strangers are reliable. It's better to find two deputies to supervise him. The deputies should also supervise each other. Extraordinary times call for extraordinary measures." Luo Qihong said helplessly.

"Okay, I'll make arrangements." Bai Jinyan also understood the importance of this matter.

"The board of directors also needs to clear out some directors and insert our people." Luo Qihong thought for a moment and said, "Start collecting information about those directors and recruit senior staff."

next day
Luo Qihong hid in the office and looked through the real estate company information that Bai Jinyan had ordered people to collect. If he wanted to turn Nikkatsu Film Company around, it would be impossible to rely solely on those two Japanese. It was just a means of checks and balances, and it was only temporary.

"The cinema chain company has been in operation for nearly 10 years. It can be listed independently. There is no need to go public through a backdoor listing, right?" Bai Jinyan asked.

Luo Qihong laughed and said, "If we don't go public through a backdoor listing, how can we maximize our profits? Dean Investment Company will find it difficult to make a profit."

"If we dilute the profits of Nikkatsu Film Company, will it affect our position on the board of directors?" Bai Jinyan expressed his concerns.

"That's fine! We've been aiming for profit from the beginning. As long as we can make a profit and barely keep our position so that we can continue to make profits in the future, that's fine. It doesn't matter if the means are a little rough now."

(End of this chapter)