Debuted right after graduating from high school

"I remember that Uncle Six held more than 30% of TVB's shares. Why would he suddenly sell them?"

Fan Wumian lowered his head and ate his braised pork rice, asking curiously.

On the other end of the phone, the consultant surnamed Chen explained:
"Uncle Six is ​​getting old, and his health has been poor these past few years. He said he wants to sell his TBV shares to enjoy his retirement and put all the money into the family charitable trust. I heard that several large companies are very interested. These TBV shares are worth nearly 10 billion, but Uncle Six has high hopes for your abilities and may be considering having you take over."

Fan Wumian was both amused and exasperated, and sighed:
"Thank you for your kindness, but I think it will be much more convenient to watch dramas online in the future, and fewer and fewer people will watch TV. Also, TBV's market value is at a high point, and these shares are a bit too hot to handle. Just say that my money is tied up in the stock market and I'm short on cash recently. I've also just acquired a batch of companies. Find an excuse to help me sell them."

In his view, Tudou.com is essentially equivalent to a television station.

Tudou.com recently acquired the exclusive streaming rights to TBV's film library for HK$2 million, and will have to pay TBV additional fees based on the number of views.

There wasn't much that appealed to Fan Wumian within the entire TBV Group. It mainly made money by collecting cable TV fees and advertising, making it a sunset industry.

He also remembered watching a short video in his previous life about how Country Garden Properties almost acquired TBV, but the deal fell through due to the 2008 financial crisis, narrowly escaping disaster. Later, TBV's market value continued to decline, and it suffered losses year after year, leading some actors to complain that "being an actor is not as lucrative as being a dishwasher."

Fan Wumian had a vague recollection of news stories like TBV actors selling chicken feet and driving for ride-hailing services, but of course he wouldn't spend such a large sum of money to take over at a high price.

All we can say is that the era of TBV is indeed over. This is just the last moment of its glory before it leaves the stage, and it won't last more than a few years before it reverts to its original state.

He didn't take the matter too seriously. Recently, wealthy businessmen and startup founders have been flocking to Fan Wumian seeking funding. Even if he doesn't actively reach out, many pretty good money-making projects will be delivered to him on their own.

For example, yesterday, Shanghai-listed company "Dongbu Yuhong," whose main business is waterproofing materials, approached us and said that they knew Fan Wumian was making moves in the real estate infrastructure sector and hoped to raise 1 million RMB to acquire a major competitor and seek a listing on the Shanghai Stock Exchange as soon as possible.

During Fan Wumian's time in the southwestern plateau, a local official even used his connections to approach him and help Great Wall Motors, which was already listed on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange, to raise 30 billion RMB for research and development of automobiles, auto parts, and so on.

Great Wall Motors was originally applying for an A-share listing, but the recent stock market crash disrupted its plans. In order to stabilize the market, the regulatory authorities slowed down the pace of expansion, making it particularly difficult to go public in the short term. So the company approached Fan Wumian, hoping to complete the financing in another way.

Fan Wumian is optimistic about Dongbu Yuhong and is busy making great strides in the real estate and infrastructure market. As for Great Wall Motors, it has some potential in the long term, but its stock price is a bit overvalued in the short term, so he wants to delay making a decision.

The market is at a critical juncture, transitioning from a bull to a bear market. Many things cannot be rushed. Perhaps in a few months, financing costs could drop by 30% to 40%.

He knew the winds were blowing in the wrong direction. Shareholders of companies eager to raise funds or cash out also realized that the market was in a downturn, which is why things have been so lively lately.

The current situation is that it is particularly easy to make overseas investments or acquisitions recently. Many shareholders are even willing to offer a 10% or 20% discount on the stock price on the exchange in order to get out as soon as possible and put the cash in their pockets.

Fan Wumian, on the other hand, was selective, focusing only on high-quality stocks with less of a bubble and a future return of at least 10 times. He mainly invested through New China Life Insurance, United China Insurance, Mountain King Fund, and Bosera Fund.

He personally controls over 300 billion RMB indirectly through several "cash cows." In the context of an impending wave of financing and acquisitions, he will inevitably engage in a frenzy of buying and investing to complete a new round of asset allocation for himself and his investors.

This makes Fan Wumian quite busy most of the time, unable to truly relax and rest, but it's all worthwhile, as the long-term benefits are immense.
After finishing his meal at the tea restaurant, he took some time to meet up with Sing Jai.

The mansion at No. 12 Pollock's Path is not yet finished with renovations. Sing Jai is currently renting a place to live in, which is located in an apartment building on The Peak Road owned by Li Ka-shing's company.

The apartment building is located on the top floor, with a rooftop swimming pool and a very open view.

Sing-jai simply dislikes social niceties; he's not lacking in emotional intelligence. After exchanging a few polite words with Fan Wumian, he told him:
"This plot of land is in a good location, isn't it? They've recently started terminating leases and taking back the properties. It seems they're planning to demolish this old building and rebuild several mansions like we do back home." "Li Ka-shing has basically never lost when it comes to investments. His decision to continue building mansions shows that the Hong Kong property market has a particularly good outlook and there will definitely be a market in the future."

"I've raised all the funds for my No. 90 Repulse Bay Road project. A Singaporean businessman invested HK$4.5 million in me. Including the cash I got from selling No. 10 Pollock's Road to Ms. Chong and mortgaging the shop, it's almost exactly enough."

Rather than saying that Xingzai was speaking to Fan Wumian, it would be more accurate to say that Xingzai was comforting himself and trying to find some confidence in himself.

After all, since he and his partners acquired the land at 90 Repulse Bay Road, there has been a constant stream of negative news about the US subprime mortgage crisis and the potential financial crisis. Many people have felt that the Hong Kong property market has risen too much in the past two years and is likely to see another round of sharp declines.

Sing, who was originally full of confidence, suddenly lost his confidence, worried that if he made some money from the Pollock's Path project, he would lose it all back, including the principal and interest.

The real estate market in Hong Kong fluctuates greatly. However, with economic development, excessive money supply, and inflation, it hit rock bottom in 1997 and then surged again. In the past few years, it has fallen again and then surged again, always managing to recover a lot of losses and continue to thrive.

Fan Wumian could tell that Xingzai was starting to panic, and having no intention of causing any further trouble, he smiled and said some polite words:

"Yes, so I've kept the houses at 16 and 18 Pollock's Path and haven't sold them. I've had quite a few real estate agents asking about the prices in the last few months."

"When I called you last time, we talked about how we would film a prequel to 'Kung Fu 2' first. I'll need your help to make a cameo appearance then, and you'll continue to star in the third installment."

"In addition, there's 'Detective Chinatown 2,' which is scheduled to start filming at the end of this year or in January or February next year. Let's coordinate the schedule in advance and see when we can squeeze out 1 or 2 days?"

Both companies have communicated about these matters.

To ensure the successful development of 90 Repulse Bay Road, Stephen Chow has once again become a "workaholic," actively taking on roles. Upon hearing this, he smiled and said to Fan Wumian:
“No problem. Plus, with the Ip Man series, I’m practically a contracted artist under Mr. Fan’s management. Most of my schedule has been allocated to you.”

Fan Wumian laughed:
"Fans like you, and I happen to have some scripts on hand. I'll make a few more while I'm still young. Once we finish developing 90 Repulse Bay Road, I should be able to retire completely. If I'm interested, I can invest in a few movies myself. If I don't want to make them, I can just rest. Anyway, I'm already financially independent."

Stephen Chow has made so many movies over the years, but all that money he's earned doesn't even amount to a single mansion on Victoria Peak. Hearing this, he smiled genuinely.
“Speaking of financial freedom, you have truly achieved great success. The media says you have hundreds of billions of dollars in cash in your account, which is simply terrifying.”

Fan Wumian said to him:

"Most of it is investors' money; I'm just managing their finances. By the way, do you know anyone at Fox in Hollywood? Why did I hear that they're considering having you in charge of the Dragon Ball project?"

"Yes, that's true. I'm in talks with them about a collaboration. The person who contacted me used to work at Columbia Pictures and we worked together on 'Kung Fu Hustle.' I don't know the specifics, but I do know that the investment is huge and the script is almost finished."

Sing suddenly became unhappy and added:

"I have a collection of all the Dragon Ball comics. Those Americans don't understand it at all. The scripts they came up with are weird and the story is completely changed. If it weren't for the high price they were paid, I really wouldn't want to waste my time with them."

"I see. I originally wanted to buy the film and television adaptation rights, but 21st Century Fox asked for too high a price."

Seeing that Xingzai seemed to particularly dislike the "Dragon Ball" script, Fan Wumian was only thinking that he might actually have a chance to "collect scraps" in the future. (End of this chapter)