Hollywood starts with an agent

Chapter 530 Even I'm scared

"That's great! Your investment in 'The Storm Riders' grossed HK$4100 million, which is estimated to be the highest-grossing film in Hong Kong this year!"

In a bar in Lan Kwai Fong, Aaron and Wang Zhuxian sat on a sofa.

"The Storm Riders" was produced by Media Asia Films and distributed by Golden Harvest.

At the beginning of the Lunar New Year, Jack Cheng's Lunar New Year film "Who Am I?" only grossed HK$3800 million. Who can surpass these two films?

Wang Zhuxian smiled and said, "It should be!"

After all, the Hong Kong film market is currently in a very slump, with fewer than 100 films being produced annually.

Aaron shook his head. "Hong Kong cinema has truly declined. Now, the top-ranked films are mostly Hollywood movies!"

"There's nothing we can do. The grand scenes in Hollywood movies are captivating enough," Wang Zhuxian sighed. Movies like "Deep Impact," "Armageddon," "Saving Private Ryan," "Godzilla," and "Mulan" all performed quite well in Hong Kong.

"Now, I own most of Media Asia Films, and I'm preparing to expand into the mainland market!"

Wang Zhuxian is under a lot of pressure right now. The sluggish Hong Kong market is no longer enough to support such a large film crew.

Aaron leaned back on the sofa and patted the woman next to him on the shoulder. "Perhaps we could start by investing in some mainland TV dramas, training some mainland professionals, and signing a few mainland stars or something."

"However, filmmakers in Hong Kong have too many bad habits; they're all unrealistic and have an extremely poor attitude towards the mainland."

“In the future, your main market will definitely be in the mainland. Laying a solid foundation now will be beneficial!”

Wang Zhuxian nodded. "Now, many filmmakers are starting to move north."

"Alright, stop overthinking it. You still have your factory business in mainland China, so what are you worried about regarding the film company?"

Aaron kissed the girl. Not to mention that the new VCD company he invested in in the mainland had made a lot of money, the garment factory in the coastal city also had a very promising future!

"By the way, your presidential news is attracting global attention right now. Aren't you going back to China?"

Wang Zhuxian couldn't help but smile.

Recently, the U.S. House Judiciary Committee, despite opposition from Democrats, agreed to release President Clinton's grand jury testimony, video recordings, and more than 3000 pages of material from the Ken Starr Report;

This includes Monica Lewinsky's explicit sexual testimony and various photos, such as the photo of her wearing a blue dress stained with Clinton's semen!

Clinton has now undoubtedly become a laughing stock around the world.

"Ha, you still care about these things?" Aaron reached out and touched the woman's thigh.

"It's not that I care, it's just that this matter has such a huge impact that it's hard for me not to know about it."

"It's broadcast on TV!"

There's no way around it; as the president of the world's leading superpower, he's bound to attract global attention, especially regarding his sex scandals.

Aaron put down his glass. "Alright, it's getting late, let's go back..."

In Shanghai, Aaron returned to the city after his Haihua Real Estate took over the Shanghai World Financial Center project. Aaron didn't make many changes to the original design of the Shanghai World Financial Center, only requesting that the top of the tower be pointed!
As for the height, the original 466 meters was already sufficient.

After meeting with Shanghai municipal government officials and representatives of the contractor Shanghai Construction Group, Aaron said there was no need to worry about funding and requested that work resume as soon as possible.
Meanwhile, Haihua Real Estate's plan to invest 20 billion RMB to build a large shopping mall has also received strong support from the Shanghai Municipal Government!

"It's finally all sorted out. We can resume work before the end of the year, and it will be completed by the end of the year after next," Aaron said, collapsing onto the sofa after returning to the hotel.

Looking at Edgar Irwin beside him, he said, "The Haihua Plaza project needs to get more attention and be launched as soon as possible. We can open a Fifth Avenue Saxophone boutique there."

“Understood,” Edgar Irwin nodded. “Actually, Mr. Cicero Wilson has been visiting several cities in Asia for the past few months.”

"Currently, the location for Taipei has been decided, and the location for Hong Kong will be ready soon!"

Cicero Wilson is the CEO of Saks Fifth Avenue.

Aaron smiled. "I heard that a skyscraper over 500 meters tall is being built in Taipei. There's a trend of building skyscrapers in Asia right now."

The Petronas Twin Towers in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, which just opened this year, are 452 meters tall, making them the tallest buildings in the world.

The Shanghai World Financial Center was designed to surpass the Petronas Twin Towers in Kuala Lumpur, but unfortunately, it now faces competition from Taipei!

Edgar Irwin added, "Recently, AOL has been planning to acquire Netscape."

"Netscape, after losing out to Microsoft's Internet Explorer earlier this year, announced that all future versions of its software would be free in an effort to regain market share."

"It seems there's no way to salvage the situation!"

Aaron shook his head. AOL's stock price was rising impressively, and the internet technology bubble was indeed alarming.
Microsoft, AOL, Yahoo, Cisco, Dell, and Amazon, among others, have seen their stock prices soar. In particular, Microsoft's market capitalization reached $3400 billion this year, surpassing General Electric's $3300 billion to become the world's largest!

Edgar Irving sighed, "Wall Street is treating internet company IPOs like opening a blind box right now."

“Investment banks like Goldman Sachs and Morgan Stanley have turned IPO pricing power into a gambling game.”

Aaron narrowed his eyes. He planned to cash out a large amount of money when the tech bubble was nearing its peak in the second half of next year.

Even Aaron felt a sense of fear about Wall Street's attitude toward tech companies!
Aaron suddenly asked, "What about South Korea? How's the situation there now?"

Edgar Irwin smiled. "The South Korean government is trying its best to maintain the chaebol industries, but some large chaebol companies have declared bankruptcy. Kia Motors declared bankruptcy in May, and the South Korean government hopes that Hyundai Motors can acquire Kia."

"SsangYong Motors also went bankrupt, while Daewoo Group, which was already heavily indebted, continued to borrow money to acquire SsangYong, hoping to change its current dire situation through the acquisition. However, its debt ratio continued to rise, and the situation worsened further!"

Aaron scoffed, "By the way, early next year, 11 EU countries will launch the euro as their new common currency."

"Be sure to keep a close eye on the euro exchange rate."

On January 1, 1999, the euro will be introduced into the world financial market as an accounting currency, which is definitely a good opportunity to short the euro!

“I’ve been watching the euro closely,” Edgar Irving wasn’t stupid; the euro was created to challenge the dollar’s ​​dominance…

(End of this chapter)