After rebirth, I became a great master

Chapter 589 Bombardment
The tense situation is on the verge of erupting.

Finally, on August 14th, the national team stepped down.

The Hong Kong government launched the Exchange Fund to enter the stock and futures markets, buying up large amounts of blue-chip stocks and futures contracts, while simultaneously raising the overnight interbank lending rate, thus attacking international speculators from both sides.

We'll buy as many as they sell!

On that day, more than HK$40 billion was used, directly boosting the Hang Seng Index from 6660 points to 7224 points, a single-day increase of 8.47%.

The market exploded!

Entertainment stocks were among the top three performing sectors, with a single-day increase of over 18.2%.

The bailout funds have turned a profit.

The unrealized profit exceeds HK$1200 million.

The turnaround has begun.

"Mr. Zhou, there's a horse show tomorrow, and my horse wants to participate. Would you like to come along?"

"Sir, I have a script here and I need to audition a group of actresses. If you have some free time, could you come over and help me take a look?"

"My wife's younger sister is having her birthday tomorrow night, and I'd like to invite Mr. Da to attend."

“There’s a Mr. Zhuang who owns 2.25% of Huanya’s shares and he wants to sell them… I wonder if you’re interested, sir?”

"Sir, the gambling king has invited you..."

Suddenly, Zhou Haoran, who participated in the market rescue with a positive image, became a hot commodity again.

It has even broken into other circles.

Some wealthy tycoons outside the entertainment industry have also been paying attention to the developments in this field, and some have even extended olive branches, wanting to have some contact with Mr. Da.

Zhou Haoran accepted all comers and made frequent appearances.

He quickly became a familiar face in Hong Kong's high society.

This naturally had a positive effect on his subsequent operations.

"Uncle, Fitto Records has confirmed that they intend to sell."

Tang Shiyi, oblivious to Zhou Haoran's affectionate embrace of Jiang Minsi, remained remarkably calm and handed over a document.

Jiang Minsi was also somewhat helpless.

I thought to myself, this Tang Shiyi is really strange. It's like he's missing a screw in his head; he doesn't even know when to report on his work. Work is important, but shouldn't there be a balance between work and rest?

With no other option, Jiang Minsi could only pull up her bra and straighten her nightgown, deciding to deal with it later that night.

"Oh, Fittu!"

Zhou Haoran nodded and accepted the relevant materials.

Tang Shiyi said softly, "If we want to make an acquisition, we need to do it as soon as possible. I heard that Emperor Entertainment Group wants to get involved in the entertainment industry and also wants to acquire Fitto Records. It's just that they are having some financial difficulties due to the recent economic crisis. Once things have calmed down, they will most likely make a move."

"We need to hurry!"

Zhou Haoran knew what his weaknesses were.

He is not a local.

In a fair competition, it would be difficult for Fitto Records to compete with Emperor Entertainment Group.

Tang Shiyi stood in front of the sofa and said very seriously, "So I think if we want to finalize the acquisition of Fitto Records, it's best to do it now. If we wait until the dust settles on the financial battle and Emperor Entertainment recovers, they will definitely join the competition."

"Come, sit down."

Zhou Haoran patted the spot next to him where Jiang Minsi had just been sitting.

Tang Shiyi didn't pay any attention and went over to sit down.

Quietly.

Completely different from her icy demeanor towards strangers, she's like a quiet and gentle younger sister.

"I don't think Fitto Records has many popular singers."

Zhou Haoran reviewed the materials related to Fitto Records and was not happy about the artists under their management.

A dozen or so singers.

He is most familiar with two people: Nicholas Tse and Joey Yung.

Fortunately, these two are also considered cash cows.

In the next few years, their earning power will be enough to cover the cost of acquiring Fitto Records. Especially Joey Yung, who is currently under a new artist contract with a 40/60 revenue split.

The company takes 60%.

Tang Shiyi said, "The most popular singers have all been poached by big record companies like Warner, Rock Records, and PolyGram with high salaries. Small companies can't afford to support popular singers. Fitto Records' business philosophy is to discover new talent."

"Oh, that's alright."

Zhou Haoran nodded. He knew that after Emperor Entertainment emerged, it quickly discovered a series of popular singers, such as Eason Chan, Twins, and Yumiko Cheng, becoming an important force in the music industry.

The success of this relies on Fitto Records' ability to generate revenue.

Tang Shiyi continued, "Besides discovering artists, Fitto Records also has another business: DVD production and manufacturing. They have partner factories."

"Oh?"

Zhou Haoran's eyes lit up; this was indeed a business opportunity that could be exploited.

Tang Shiyi said, "However, they don't produce VCDs, they produce laser discs."

“I know.” Zhou Haoran was very knowledgeable about technical matters. “VCD discs are outdated in technology, have poor stability, low reuse rate, small capacity, and poor speaker quality. The Hong Kong government would definitely not consider them.”

The VCD player was "invented" by the Chinese.

The earliest one was Wan Yan VCD.

It's not that foreign countries don't know how to do it, but rather that they look down on it. The technology is too outdated. Its only advantage is that it's easy to produce and inexpensive, making it suitable for poor and underdeveloped regions.

A single VCD disc can hold a maximum of 72 minutes of 320p video content.

Currently, the mainstream DVDs in developed international markets are all 720P resolution and can hold 2-3 hours of video content.

VCDs are a product on the fringes of time, and only have a certain market in China, Southeast Asia, and Africa.

With such a developed government in Hong Kong, even pirated DVDs are 720p pirated copies.

The audio-visual quality is even better than that of a genuine 320P VCD.

Tang Shiyi said, "So I think Fitto Records is still quite valuable, it's possible..."

“Buy it!” Zhou Haoran said without hesitation. “Initiate the acquisition process and buy Fitto Records. I heard last time that they were 2500 million Hong Kong dollars in debt and couldn’t even pay the interest.” “Hmm.” Tang Shiyi nodded slightly. “I estimate that we can reach a deal with an offer of 1000 million Hong Kong dollars.”

"Take it!" Zhou Haoran didn't need to know too much about the situation and immediately made a decision. "Using Fitto Records as a springboard, we can open up the Hong Kong and Taiwan markets for Tangren Media. By leveraging the connections we've built up recently, we can connect with entertainment resources from Hong Kong and Taiwan."

As a film and television company based in a port city, Tangren Media faces discrimination in mainland China.

The power of discourse lies with the Beijing circle.

However, Hong Kong and Taiwan culture is the mainstream in mainland China now.

Tangren Media wants to break out of this predicament.

Shifting from export to domestic sales is a very good strategy.

"Oh, by the way, I heard that PolyGram Records is going bankrupt too. What do you think about that?"

Zhou Haoran was, after all, an outsider and didn't know much about the market.

"Uh..." Tang Shiyi's expression was complicated. "PolyGram, that's not a good idea, is it?"

"Why not?"

PolyGram is an international record giant.

"is it?"

Zhou Haoran had only heard of Warner Music, Sony Music, and Universal Music.

Tang Shiyi said, "PolyGram is the most important record company in the local area. Its parent company is in Canada, and the most important singers are all under PolyGram. However, to acquire PolyGram... it might cost at least... 100 billion US dollars."

"Ha! Just kidding!" Zhou Haoran was taken aback, grabbed her soft little hand, and regained his composure. "Thank you for your hard work these past few days."

"No."

Tang Shiyi gently shook his head.

Zhou Haoran asked, "No one bullied you, right?"

"No, everyone knows I'm Mr. Da's woman."

Tang Shiyi did not hide this identity, which was a crucial factor in her ability to lead Tangren Media to break through the Hong Kong government's control.

Zhou Haoran nodded. "Okay, that's good."

……

Because Zhou Haoran invests in entertainment stocks and deals with the entertainment industry.

So during this time, he has been keeping an eye on the Hong Kong government's entertainment news.

During the financial showdown, a major entertainment news story broke in Hong Kong: pop diva Anita Mui launched a scathing attack on her management company, Capital Artists.

The specific reason is still the economic crisis.

The economic crisis led to a decline in DVD sales.

Many record companies are operating at a loss.

How to do?
Some record companies are offering discounts and promotions, while others are cutting back on spending, and still others are trying to find ways to generate revenue!
Capital Artists' strategy is to open source.

They launched a new project – premium discs.

It's about compiling all the best songs by their star artist Anita Mui into a compilation album.

This immediately angered Anita Mui.

Because this is a strategy of drinking poison to quench thirst.

A curated selection of discs is sure to be a bestseller.

But what happens to the regular records from the past once a compilation album is released?
Fans love listening to compilation songs.

Many people buy a record just to listen to two or three hit songs; the rest are just filler. This is actually shameless in the music industry. If you create many good songs, you should distribute them across multiple albums to make money from them. Putting them all on one album would be a waste.

Now, Capital Artists has released a compilation album...

This is certainly good news for fans.

This is very unfriendly to singers, as it will seriously affect their own interests. Everyone will be listening to compilation albums, and those mediocre, low-quality songs won't sell.

Anita Mui's influence was immense.

For example, while the mainland is fighting floods and providing disaster relief, the Hong Kong government is holding charity performances.

The organizer and initiator of the benefit performance was Anita Mui.

She stood up and criticized Capital Artists.

In the wake of this, many artists who had been mistreated by Capital Artists over the past few years came forward to express their support, such as Sammi Cheng and Andy Hui. Even though they had both left Capital Artists, the company still released the album "Couple's Doubles," compiling their old songs into a single disc – a clear case of prioritizing profit above all else.

In order to make money, they offended all the artists in the industry.

"Uncle, I have good news for you!"

Tang Shiyi didn't even have time to say it in person; she called Zhou Haoran directly.

"Fitto Records has finalized the deal?"

Zhou Haoran is having a meeting with the delegation.

Tang Shiyi remained calm, but her tone betrayed her undisguised joy: "Didn't you say that Fitto Records doesn't have enough popular singers? Now the opportunity has arrived."

"Ok?"

"Just now, Ms. Wu Yu, the general manager of Huaxing Records, contacted me and asked if I wanted to acquire Huaxing Records."

"Huh?" Zhou Haoran was taken aback. "Anita Mui was that fierce? One bombardment was enough to make Huaxing Entertainment go out of business?"

Tang Shiyi said, "The criticism is only one aspect. Ever since Capital Artists was acquired by SCMP Group in 96, it has been on a downward trend and has made many wrong decisions. In the past ten years or so, Capital Artists was a record company that could compete with top record companies such as PolyGram, Rock Records and UFO Records, but it has obviously declined in recent years."

“It’s an opportunity.”

Zhou Haoran was never satisfied with just Fitto Records.

Tang Shiyi pursed her lips and said, "There's one more thing. Huaxing Records has a product that you like the most."

"Ok?"

Zhou Haoran didn't understand what she meant.

Tang Shiyi smiled and said, "Under Capital Artists, there is a variety show called 'New Talent Singer Competition.' This is the most popular and authoritative singing competition in Hong Kong. A number of superstars, including Anita Mui, Leslie Cheung, Leon Lai, and Jenny Tseng, all came from this show. Fitto Records is good at cultivating new talents, and combined with 'New Talent Singer Competition,' they can complement each other. Just like you said before... this is called industry synergy."

(End of this chapter)