Hong Kong 1980: The Savage Era

Chapter 264 Chapter 265 [Take Over the Regal Hotel]

Luo Qihong knew that 'haste makes waste', so he gave Zhang Manyu a good impression and left the set.

In Hong Kong in the 80s, the identity of Miss Hong Kong was still quite useful. It was not only a ticket to enter the entertainment industry and make big money by making movies, but also a fast lane to marry into a wealthy family.

Those girls who are keen on participating in the Miss Hong Kong pageant are all "vain", as Zhang Manyu publicly admitted in the "Tonight Without Defense" program in her previous life.

Zhang Manyu, who was 19 years old at the time, certainly had a good impression of young, self-made rich people like Luo Qihong, but she didn't want to show it too much and appear a little impatient.

"Is the man just now really the legendary Luo Qihong?! I heard that he has many companies under his name, and China Gas is one of them. Its current market value is 36 billion Hong Kong dollars." A girl with some baby fat and twin ponytails looked at Luo Qihong's back as he left, her eyes sparkling with stars.

A tall girl with an oval face sneered, "The China Gas Company is just one of his assets. He has many more assets. He owns two buildings in Central and countless other properties. Some weekly magazines say that Luo Sheng's net worth has exceeded HK$2 billion, making him the youngest richest man in Hong Kong, bar none."

Zhang Manyu was still eating, but she took in what her colleagues said and murmured softly, "So rich?"

"I heard that he has a girlfriend, so we don't have a chance for the time being." Another girl interrupted, with a hint of helplessness in her tone.

"Hmph!" The girls groaned softly. In their opinion, it was fine as long as she was just a girlfriend and not a wife.

Of course, some women will not refuse even wealthy men who are married, such as the famous incident in the 90s where Ka Wai and Lee Ka Yan competed for favor.

Great Eagle Centre, Wan Chai
Wei Li and Luo Qihong came together to visit Luo Yingshi and Luo Jiarui of Eagle Properties.

Luo Yingshi has a somewhat bald complexion, and his eyes narrow into slits when he smiles. He looks a little overweight and old, but he is in good spirits.

As it was their first meeting, Luo Jiarui was looking at Luo Qihong and Wei Li carefully, as if he was trying to find some useful information from their body language.

Several people walked into the conference room at the same time, and the secretaries immediately brought them hot coffee.

The Hong Kong River is already a little chilly in early winter, and elderly people like Luo Yingshi have taken good measures to keep warm, so they look bloated.

Luo Yingshi is more talkative, while Luo Jiarui, perhaps because of his previous job, doesn't talk much and gives people the feeling that he is difficult to get along with.

Of course, in the eyes of these top businessmen, it is not the case that those who don’t talk are difficult to deal with. On the contrary, some talkative people are very cunning, such as Luo Yingshi in front of them. He looks honest and simple, but is actually very difficult to deal with.

"Let's get to the point. You are all busy people and I can't waste your time." Luo Yingshi laughed.

"Okay, let's get serious, Chairman Luo!" Wei Li nodded, put away his smile, and said seriously, "Eagle Properties holds 33.4% of the shares of Regal Hotels. How much do you want to sell it for?"

Luo Jiarui paused for a moment and said, "HK$1 million! I think everyone is aware of the potential of Regal Hotels Company, so there is no need to say more about this."

Wei Li pursed his lips and said, "General Manager Luo's statement does make sense, but without the Regal Hotel in Tsim Sha Tsui East, the value of the Regal Hotel Company should be discounted. And you seem to have scared away many people who came to your door. Their highest offer is not as high as 9 million yuan. Isn't 1 million 1 million too high?"

"Not high at all. Regal Hotels Company is worth the price." Luo Jiarui said without leaving any room for negotiation.

Luo Qihong thought, "Luo Jiarui's professional habits are too strong. He is not as good as Luo Xurui for the time being. No wonder Luo Yingshi is needed to lead the team. It seems that this acquisition case is not easy to negotiate."

"The loss of the entire Eagle Properties Group is close to HK$24 billion, and all major banks are demanding repayment. It is impossible for General Manager Luo to sell for HK$1 million. The current share price of Regal Hotels is not worth this price. Why don't we each take a step back and split the money up into HK$1 million?" Wei Li spread his hands and said.

Luo Jiarui shook his head and listed the values ​​of the Regal Hotel Company, trying to use them to convince Wei Li.

Wei Li did not hesitate and said that he could accept the price, but the Regal Hotel in Tsim Sha Tsui East had to be taken back at a price of 5 million yuan.

This condition is naturally impossible to be accepted, because the Regal Hotel in Tsim Sha Tsui East is worth hundreds of millions. How can it be acquired for 5 million yuan? Wei Li is asking for too much.

However, the price was soon lowered to 9 million yuan, which was still quite far from the bottom line of 8 million yuan.

Luo Yingshi and Luo Qihong did not participate in the negotiations between the two, as if this matter had nothing to do with them, but they sat here and played some role in the whole matter.

Near the lunch break, the price had been lowered to 9 million yuan, but Wei Li was still not satisfied, thinking that the 1 million yuan was an overpayment and could be taken away.

Before coming, Wei Li had asked Luo Xurui about Luo Jiarui's weaknesses, and now these advice has played a significant role.

"Mr. Wei Li, I think you are not short of the 1 million yuan. There is no need to talk about it anymore, right?" Luo Jiarui said.

Wei Li said somewhat unhappily, "General Manager Luo's words are not good. We are all businessmen, and no one is short of 1 million yuan, but this is the cost of doing business. It is related to whether the project is worth the price, not to be generous and be a gentleman, so I will not back down."

In the end, the negotiation lasted for three hours and the deal was concluded at a price of HK$3 million, with the company purchasing 9% of the shares of Regal Hotels from Great Eagle Properties.

After acquiring Regal Hotels, the company's holdings in Paliburg Investments also became an asset of Weeley and his group. At its peak in 82, Great Eagle Properties held 33.4% of Regal Hotels shares with a book value of $4 million. Now it is trading at $6 million, with a loss of $6 million, accounting for 9%, which is a bit scary.

You should know that in 82, Hang Lung Properties was one of the top 20 real estate companies in Hong Kong. Now its share price has dropped by more than 80%. Other real estate companies cannot even imagine how much loss they are suffering.

Of course, this was also due to Luo Xurui's recklessness. No wonder Luo Yingshi had such a great grudge against Luo Xurui.

In fact, these losses would be enough to bankrupt Eagle Properties, like the collapse of Carin Properties.

Wei Li and Luo Qihong also wanted to invite Luo father and son to dinner, but were rejected by Luo Yingshi on the grounds that Luo Yingshi needed to eat the meals arranged by the doctor and could not eat anything else.

Luo Yingshi's office

The father and his son were having dinner. There were only four dishes and one soup on the table, which seemed a bit simple.

"Did you gain anything from today's negotiations?" Luo Yingshi picked up the cauliflower without even looking at Luo Jiarui.

Luo Jiarui put down his bowl and chopsticks, and said with a heavy face, "Wei Li is a shareholder of the Regal Hotel. He knows the situation of the Regal Hotel very well and has an advantage over me in negotiation skills. The deal was completed at a price of 9 million is already a good result. I will strengthen my training in this area in the future and strive to change the situation."

"But I think Luo Qihong sitting next to him is not a good person either. He looks young but seems to be used to this kind of thing. He is not surprised at all by the method used by Wei Li. I have a feeling that he is more difficult to deal with than Wei Li."

"Wei Li is known as the company's doctor. His most impressive achievement was helping Hutchison Whampoa turn losses into profits. When it comes to debt and asset restructuring, Wei Li should be better than Luo Qihong. However, when it comes to acquisition negotiations, Luo Qihong should be better. Most of the companies he owns are acquired."

"Luo Qihong's ability in securities investment is no worse than Wei Li's, and even better. His only disadvantage, which is also his biggest advantage, is that he is younger and has less experience than Wei Li, but his future is many times greater than Wei Li's. Therefore, Luo Qihong is more terrifying than Wei Li."

Luo Yingshi analyzed while eating. He was already old, and the Eagle Properties would most likely be handed over to Luo Jiarui. As for his other sons, they probably would not want the family business.

"I have some understanding of Luo Qihong. Others would hide away and wait for dawn during a market crash, but this man did the opposite. He even dared to take action against Zhao Congyan's family's Huaguang Real Estate Company. He should have accumulated a large amount of funds before the big crash, and at the same time had great confidence in the future of Hong Kong. This is not ordinary self-confidence." Luo Jiarui said.

"You have only seen the tip of the iceberg. Luo Qihong owns the China Gas Company and is also investing overseas. He is not worried about the crisis at all," said Luo Yingshi.

Tiantian International Co., Ltd.
Liu Tianjiu was in his 40s at the time and was in control of the Hermione Group, but it had fallen into a financial crisis. His already bald head was losing hair in clumps, and a bald spot was already forming.

Liu Tian was of course very happy about Luo Qihong's visit. Luo Qihong was a big tycoon, but he didn't know much about the media industry, which was somewhat related to his image as a 'water fish'.

Yu Jichang still couldn't reach an agreement with Liu Tianjiu, even after threatening Liu Tianjiu, so Luo Qihong had to take action himself to conquer this media person.

After a round of greetings and pleasantries, the two began to negotiate.

"Mr. Liu, let's be frank! I have my eyes on Tiantian Daily, and I have also seen that the Hermione Group is deeply in debt. If the Hermione Group goes bankrupt and liquidates, I think Tiantian International will not be spared. That should be a good time to take action then." Luo Qihong said mercilessly.

Liu Tian was not afraid and responded, "Miaoli Group does have some debt problems, but it has not yet reached the point of bankruptcy. Tiantian International is thriving. Is there something wrong with Luo Sheng's news?"

Luo Qihong sneered, "As far as I know, the sales volume of Tiantian Daily is only 10 copies, and newsprint itself is not profitable. The profit scale is even less than 3 million yuan. Add Tiantian Color Printing and some other magazines, and the annual profit is only about 3 million yuan."

"If a copy of Tiantian Daily costs 1 million yuan, then I might as well just start a newspaper myself. I can also build a model by spending money. Why should I give it to Mr. Liu for a bargain?"

A daily newspaper like this might go downhill in two or three years, and no one dares to pay a high price to gamble on it.

Moreover, after only a few years, he wanted to increase the money eightfold. Liu Tian personally made seven times the money, almost doubling it every year. It's really scary.

"Mr. Luo, even if you are not willing to pay this price, many people are willing to pay it." Liu Tian felt that he could eat Luo Qihong to death.

Luo Qihong smiled and said, "Oh? Then why didn't Mr. Liu sell it?"

"Of course I want a higher price." Liu Tian said.

"That's true. But how is Mr. Liu going to pay back the 4 million he owes to HSBC? Do you need me to put a check on them for Mr. Liu?" Luo Qihong threatened directly. Liu Tian was lying with his eyes open. 8 million was already a good price.

Liu Tian looked embarrassed, he knew Luo Qihong had the ability to do this. He had just suppressed the debt issue with HSBC to buy more time. If Luo Qihong interfered now, he might go bankrupt.

"Mr. Liu, to be honest, I didn't take advantage of the crisis of the Hermione Group to lower the price. I was already very fair. If you must raise the price, I can also take some trouble, but it will not benefit anyone." Luo Qihong persuaded earnestly.

Luo Qihong will have to pay a price for colluding with HSBC, otherwise why would HSBC be willing to help him.

(End of this chapter)