Hong Kong Entertainment 1979: A Beating Up the Manager at the Start

Chapter 155 Acquired

At 2 p.m., Songshan drove Li Jiangbo and Li Xiaotian to JVC headquarters.

Upon arrival, the two were led by staff to the entrance of a conference room on the third floor.

The staff knocked on the door, and after receiving permission from the people in the meeting room, opened the door and led the two people inside.

As soon as the two entered the conference room, they saw Watanabe Shota and several unfamiliar Japanese people bowing to them at a 90-degree angle.

The two were used to this kind of scene. Japanese people were always so polite, but as polite as they were, they would still bow to you when they were ripping you off!

Li Jiangbo waved to them, which was enough to acknowledge them.

At this moment, Watanabe Shota pointed to the person next to him and introduced him to the two of them: "Li-san, this is our President Matsuno Kokichi. He will be in charge of this negotiation."

Li Jiangbo shook hands with Matsuno. "Hello, President Matsuno."

Matsuno smiled and said in his broken Cantonese, "Hello, Mr. Lee."

JVC's translation was handled by Watanabe Shota, while Li Jiangbo's translation was handled by Li Xiaotian.

After both parties were seated, the negotiations officially began.

After the people from JVC whispered among themselves for a while, Watanabe Shota got to the point first.

"Mr. Li, land and people are expensive in Hong Kong, and the politics are unstable. We plan to build a factory in Taiwan, where the cost will be 30% lower than in Hong Kong."

"VHS is also the lifeline of our company; none of our key technologies can be taken out of the country."

"Even if we were to cooperate, we would not contribute capital, only our brand, technology, and equipment. Furthermore, we would export at least 50,000 VHS units to Southeast Asia in the first year. If we fail to meet this requirement, we will withdraw our technology and personnel. We also want a 60% stake in the factory."

These three consecutive sentences left Li Jiangbo somewhat bewildered; it seemed the other party had completely forgotten what they had said before.

Regarding the first point, Li Jiangbo has already explained it to Watanabe Shota. The meaning of the remaining two points is that they will provide technology, brand, and equipment without spending a penny, and will still take a 60% stake.

If Li Jiangbo really agrees, it's like finding an ancestor for himself, someone he'll have to worship and respect.

His sharp gaze fell on Watanabe Shota, his expression carrying a hint of scrutiny.

Watanabe met Li Jiangbo's gaze with a wry smile.

He really wanted to explain to Li Jiangbo that the decision was no longer up to him, but rather up to Matsuno Kokichi, who was sitting next to him, because Matsuno Kokichi was a member of Matsushita.

By the time he reported to headquarters, the situation had spiraled out of his control.

Li Jiangbo understood Watanabe's meaning and laughed heartily.

He clapped and laughed, the applause sounding particularly jarring in the quiet conference room.

Everyone looked at Li Jiangbo with a strange expression.

Li Jiangbo remained unfazed, standing up. "It seems Mr. Matsuno isn't here to negotiate, but to humiliate me!"

"In that case, I'll go talk to Sony about Betama. I believe Sony knows how to treat guests."

After he finished speaking, he prepared to leave with Lai Siu-tin.

Of course, Li Jiangbo wasn't really leaving; he was just putting on an act. After all, he knew that VHS had won a Pyrrhic victory in that format war.

He just wanted to give Matsuno a hard time and pave the way for the negotiations to come.

The two had already stood up and were walking towards the door of the conference room.

The JVC staff made no attempt to stop them, putting all the pressure on Li Jiangbo.

Li Jiangbo gritted his teeth, opened the conference room door, and prepared to leave.

At that very moment, his luck stat lit up.

"Mr. Li, wait a minute."

Li Jiangbo paused, but did not turn around.

Watanabe glared fiercely at Matsuno, then strode up to Li Jiangbo and said with utmost sincerity, "Li-san, don't be in such a hurry, we can still discuss the terms!"

Li Jiangbo glanced at Watanabe sideways but didn't say anything.

Seeing this, Li Xiaotian quickly tugged at Li Jiangbo's sleeve.

"Alright! I'll give Watanabe-kun that much face."

The two sides returned to the negotiating table, and Li Jiangbo stated directly: "For the sole proprietorship of the factory, I want to hold 70% of the shares, while JVC will contribute technology and hold 30% of the shares."

"At the same time, I want exclusive authorization in four locations for ten years; this is my bottom line."

Now it was JVC's turn to flip the table, and Watanabe said seriously, "Li-san, we cannot accept your terms!"

What a joke! Not only did the JVC side find these conditions outrageous, but even Li Xiaotian, who was standing next to them, thought they were excessively outrageous.

Watanabe pondered for a moment, "Li-san, how about this, the profit ratio is adjusted to 6:4? You get 60%, we get 40%. This is our bottom line."

"As for the exclusive licenses in the four locations, we can only offer them for five years."

Li Jiangbo remained silent upon hearing this, pondering how to maximize profits; he didn't really care about the profit sharing.

As long as he was in Hong Kong, he believed that having a say in the factory was something he could easily obtain.

What he truly cares about is exclusive licensing. Simply put, a five-year exclusive license in Hong Kong, Taiwan, and Macau is enough, but what about the mainland?

It should be noted that the mainland had only been reforming and opening up for a short time. If you wanted to build a factory, you had to form a joint venture with a state-owned enterprise. He could only hold 49% of the shares, which meant he was giving up all his interests.

Therefore, he will not consider building a factory in mainland China within the next five years.

Even if we want to build a factory, we should wait until things stabilize in mainland China.

Thinking of this, Li Jiangbo nodded. "I agree to the revenue sharing, but the number of years authorized is my bottom line."

Upon hearing this, one of the senior technical executives' expressions instantly changed. "Mr. Li, a ten-year exclusive license is enough for you to monopolize the markets in four regions. How can JVC protect its own interests?"

Li Jiangbo tapped the table. "Do I need to remind you of JVC's predicament?"

Seeing that the other party remained silent, he continued, "The two companies are currently at war, and instead of thinking about giving way to grab market share, they're arguing over every little thing here?"

"Furthermore, Sony lost, but they have other projects. Do you have a way out if you lose?"

These words left the JVC executives speechless, unable to find a single reason to refute them.

At this moment, Watanabe spoke up again: "Li-san, how about this, we'll still give you a five-year license, and you'll have the right of first refusal to renew after the contract expires."

Li Jiangbo shook his head and said firmly, "No! It must be ten years."

JVC executives looked hesitant; they were also reluctant to give up Li Jiangbo, a powerful partner.

After all, the current situation forces them to compromise. The appreciation of the yen, domestic inflation, and R&D investment in Europe and the United States mean they urgently need to recover their losses to fight a protracted war with Sony.

Moreover, Li Jiangbo was telling the truth; if they lost this war, they would truly have nothing left.

Thinking of this, Watanabe gritted his teeth and said, "Mr. Li, a ten-year authorization is fine, but we must own at least 35% of the factory. We absolutely cannot lower the price any further."

Li Jiangbo remained silent, pretending to be deep in thought.

Fearing that Li Jiangbo would refuse, Watanabe offered another tempting offer.

"We can provide five fully automated videotape production lines at below market value. We hope Mr. Li will consider it carefully."

Hearing this, Li Jiangbo was secretly delighted. In fact, his previous demeanor was an act; who knew that Watanabe would lose his composure first.

He pretended to be hesitant and said, "Fine, I agree to your company's terms."

72

Upon hearing this, the JVC executives present were all delighted.

Before their expressions could even register, Li Jiangbo changed the subject and made another request.

"Watanabe, I have another request. I hope your company can lower the licensing fees for videotapes in mainland China, since the mainland is still quite underdeveloped."

Without hesitation, Watanabe asked, "So, how much does Mr. Lee want to adjust it to?"

"How about five cents a box?"

"Okay, just the licensing fee for mainland China."

Li Jiangbo nodded. "That's right."

Upon seeing that the agreement had been reached, both parties stood up and shook hands warmly.