Traveling Through the Tokyo Bubble Era

Chapter 1013 Preparing to Harvest the Leeks

After Guan Zhilin finished distributing the materials, Yu Sheng and the others had almost finished reading them before they slowly began to speak.

"These are the revenue figures for Asian cinema chains in Hong Kong over the years. Thanks to everyone's support and help, the business has been doing reasonably well."

As soon as Hideki Hanyu said this, someone immediately said, "Last year, Hong Kong's total box office revenue exceeded HK$950 million, and this year it is expected to exceed HK$1 billion. If Asia Cinemas, as the largest box office chain in Hong Kong, can only be considered passable, then are we begging for food?"

Hideki Hanyu looked at the speaker, a guy who made his fortune from pirated videotapes and had now entered the film production industry, with some kind of shady connection to a certain gang.

However, as long as things seemed to be going well on the surface, Hideki Hanyu didn't care about the other person's background.

After all, in the Hong Kong film industry these days, it's all too common to have triad backgrounds. Asia Cinemas, in order to establish itself in Hong Kong, inevitably has to deal with these people.

Although the other party's words sounded a bit like those of a江湖 (jianghu, a term referring to the world of martial arts and chivalry), their tone was full of flattery.

Upon hearing this, Hideki Hanyu showed no modesty whatsoever, arrogantly stating that...

"To be honest, the total box office revenue of Hong Kong films is only passable for me."

However, regardless of the circumstances, after several years of development, Asian Cinemas has established a firm foothold in Hong Kong and has made a small but significant contribution to the development of Hong Kong cinema.

Although everyone thought Hideki Hanyu's words were arrogant, upon closer examination, they realized that what he said made a lot of sense.

It's perfectly normal for the world's richest man, with a net worth of over 20 billion US dollars and so many profitable companies, to look down on the meager profits of Asian cinemas.

Even if we only look at the theater chains, Asian theater chains are not that important compared to the entire Crescent Theater Chain.

However, everyone still couldn't understand why Hideki Yuzuru had gone to such lengths to invite them and tell them all this.
Is it simply a matter of showing off and highlighting the importance of Asian cinema chains in Hong Kong?
Speaking of which, many of the bosses here were once competitors of Asian cinema chains.

Hideki Hanyu naturally noticed everyone's confusion, and he was about to explain the purpose of his invitation.

"Many of you have dealt with me before and should know my style of doing business. I don't like to keep things to myself and I like to make friends when doing business."

Therefore, I have some thoughts to share regarding the operation of cinemas in Asia.

I plan to list Asia Cinemas in Hong Kong, making it the first cinema chain company to be listed on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange.

To make this happen, we naturally needed the help of many friends in the film industry.

So the reason I've called everyone here today is to give you an opportunity—an opportunity to subscribe to shares in Asia Cinema Line before its IPO.

Hideki Hanyu's words caused a huge stir.

In an instant, the entire conference room felt like it was boiling water, causing a sharp, aching pain.

The group looked surprised, exchanged bewildered glances, and whispered among themselves, finding it hard to believe that Hideki Yuzuru had called them here today just to share cake with them.

After all, in the past few years, Asian cinemas have achieved a monopoly in Hong Kong, accounting for at least 90% of the box office share for major films.

However, Asian cinemas have paid a considerable price to achieve this.

Whether it's engaging in price wars, offering concessions to producers and distributors, or investing heavily in acquiring competitors, the human, material, and financial resources required are enormous.

This is why many people at the scene, despite being defeated by Asian cinema chains in the theater market, were convinced of their superiority.

Firstly, Asian cinemas are fair in their dealings; they don't consider connections when scheduling screenings, only quality and box office performance.

This is definitely a good thing for the production companies, allowing them to focus on making the film without having to worry about many things outside of the film itself.

Secondly, the Asian cinema chains are incredibly powerful; they defeated them fair and square, something the Asian chains couldn't do.

The strength of Asian cinema chains has indirectly contributed to the prosperity of Hong Kong cinema.

After all, with Asian cinema chains backing them up, and having weathered that major storm back then, many shady characters dared not cause trouble again.

For example, during previous screenings, some people would brazenly go into theaters to secretly film, and often pirated videotapes would already be being sold before the official version had even finished its run.

However, this situation has now been largely eliminated for any film released in Asian cinemas.

In the past, cinemas did not take preventative measures against this issue, partly out of fear of certain forces, but often because the risks outweighed the benefits.

But the financially powerful Asian cinema chains are different. If anyone dares to act recklessly, they'll face a crackdown at all costs.

For those who secretly film others, the professional lawyers at Asian cinemas are enough to sue you into bankruptcy, and use their connections at higher levels to put you in jail for life.

The underworld is equally ruthless in its attacks, which ultimately boil down to money. In this day and age, those who live in the underworld may appear to be loyal, but in reality, they're all after money.

In short, Asian cinemas don't care about spending money to solve these problems. Often, after depleting the profits from the films being secretly filmed, they even use their own money to cover the costs.

The attitude of Asian cinema chains, in turn, made those shady characters feel that they had lost more than they gained.

Furthermore, with Asia Cinemas subsequently opening up legitimate videotape partnerships, many people realized they had been haphazardly doing things and would have been better off directly partnering with Asia Cinemas.

Thinking about the various issues surrounding Asian cinemas, and then hearing that Hideki Hanyu wanted to push for Asian cinemas to go public and then share the profits with them.

While these people were happy, they also felt a strange sense of unease.

There are concerns that with so many new players involved, Asian cinema chains might abandon their neutral stance and stop maintaining their previous operating style.

If that's the case, although they can get a share of the pie in Asian cinemas, if the environment for Hong Kong films deteriorates, their revenue might actually decrease.

After all, even production companies with triad backgrounds prefer to do business in a stable environment where everyone can discuss business amicably. Why would they want to fight and kill each other?

In response, Xiang Sheng of Yong Sheng asked first, "Mr. Yuzuru, if Asian cinemas go public, will the old rules still change?"

"Please rest assured, even if Asia Cinemas goes public, its original neutral stance will not change. It will continue to protect everyone's interests when the films are released, just as before."

After Hideki Hanyu gave his assurance, everyone felt much more at ease.

Just then, Hideki Yuzuru gestured to Rosamund Kwan again.

After receiving the documents, Guan Zhilin picked them up again and distributed them to everyone.

When the documents were being distributed, Hideki Hanyu took the opportunity to introduce them.

"These documents detail the subscription quotas offered to each participant, the types of shares to be subscribed, and other detailed subscription conditions, etc."

If you have any questions, please ask them now.

As soon as Hideki Yuzuru finished speaking, Lei Juekun, who was the first to receive the information, asked a question.

"Mr. Yuzuru, the shares allocated to us are all preferred shares that can only participate in profit sharing, but cannot participate in voting or management."

Hideki Hanyu replied, "That's right. This is to maintain the existing management of the Asian cinema chain. This subscription is entirely voluntary. I will not force those who cannot accept the subscription conditions."

Upon hearing this, the expressions on the faces of everyone present varied.

Some people looked disappointed, clearly because they were unable to participate in the decision-making process.

Some people who have absolutely no interest in management simply don't care; as long as they can make money, that's all that matters.

Some people even endorsed preferred shares, believing that this would allow Asian cinemas to continue operating as before.

After Lei Juekun spoke up, someone else asked, "Mr. Yuzuru, why is there only the subscription share and quantity, but no subscription price?"

Hideki Hanyu explained, "I will only announce the subscription price after everyone is sure that they can accept all the conditions."

As for the price, please rest assured that it was estimated by a third-party agency and is a reasonable price that everyone can accept.

Then someone else asked, "What about the share? Why is it only this much, less than 30%, and there's no explanation on how we're supposed to distribute it?" Hideki Hanyu explained, "You're all veterans of the Hong Kong film industry. You don't think that listing Asian cinemas is just a matter of us, do you?"

In addition to you and others, subscription shares will also be allocated within the Asian cinema chain.

As for how you should distribute it, that's not my place to interfere; you'll have to figure that out yourselves. All I care about is the final result.

It is clear that Hideki Hanyu does not want to get involved in the distribution of these people's interests.

After all, it's impossible to treat everyone equally in this kind of situation; no matter how he distributes the resources, he'll offend people.

Although Hideki Yuzuru doesn't care about offending these people, there's no need for him to take on trouble himself.

With less than 30% of the subscription share, based on this year's total box office in Hong Kong, the apparent box office figure is HK$300 million.

The profits they could get were definitely in the hundreds of millions. Such huge profits, which were guaranteed to make money without any risk, were enough to make these people fight each other openly and secretly.

As for how much everyone can ultimately get, that depends on their own abilities.

After explaining this question, Hideki Hanyu went on to answer a series of questions.

He was busy until lunchtime, and seeing that no one had asked any more questions, Hideki Hanyu finally stood up and addressed the group.

"I have answered all the questions. If there are still any people who cannot accept the subscription conditions, you can leave now."

After Hideki Hanyu finished speaking, the conference room fell silent, and no one chose to leave.

Clearly, despite the numerous restrictions, people are unwilling to give up their interests.

Seeing that no one was leaving, Hideki Yuzuru continued.

“Very good. Since no one has any objections, Peter Fang will announce the subscription price and the subscription period next.”

After Hideki Hanyu finished speaking, the conference room door opened, and Peter Fang, the general manager of Asia Cinemas, walked in.

The reason why Peter Fang wasn't invited in at the beginning was not only because he didn't understand the matter, but also because they were worried that he wouldn't be able to control these bigwigs in the film industry.

Now that Hideki Hanyu has dealt with the most troublesome stage, all that's left is to announce the subscription price and wait for these people to report their final subscription shares.

Although this stage is not troublesome, the subscription period lasts for a whole week. Hideki Hanyu doesn't have time to accompany him all the time, so handing it over to Peter Fang is undoubtedly the most convenient option.

"Boss, I'm ready."

After Peter Fang entered, he first greeted Hideki Hanyu.

Hideki Hanyu patted Peter Fang on the shoulder, giving up the head position, "The rest is up to you."

After saying this, he bid farewell to everyone in the meeting room.

"Everyone, I'll go first."

Then, he left amidst the farewells of the crowd.

After leaving the conference room, Hideki Yuzuru saw Rosamund Kwan come out with him, and immediately frowned and ordered, "You don't need to come with me, go help Peter Fang."

"Darling, can I follow you? It doesn't matter whether Manager Fang has my help or not."

Guan Zhilin hesitated and appeared reluctant, clearly unwilling to leave Hideki Yuzuru.

Beautiful women are desirable, but the scumbag's next move is something that can't be done with them.

So he immediately instructed, "You should perform well in this matter. There are internal subscriptions for the Asian cinema listing, and you will be allocated a share."

Hearing that he could participate in the internal subscription and become a shareholder of Asian cinemas.

Guan Zhilin immediately stopped bothering Hideki Yuzuru and said, "Darling, I will definitely do my best."

Rosamund Kwan returned to the conference room, while Hideki Hanyu left Hopewell Centre directly.

As expected, his Bentley was surrounded by a group of entertainment reporters when he went out.

However, Hideki Hanyu ignored the media's intentions and, with security personnel clearing a path, drove straight through the crowd.

Even if he hadn't said anything, news about Asian cinemas would have leaked out sooner or later after today's meeting, since nothing stays secret forever.

Even if he requests secrecy now, it's impossible to hide such a big event as going public.

Furthermore, for Asian cinema chains that are about to go public, the public reaction is not necessarily a bad thing.

Only by making a huge splash will Asian cinemas gain attention after their IPO.

Even if the domestic layout hasn't started yet, capital operations based on box office performance can begin in the Hong Kong capital market.

No matter which movie is a box office hit, or whether Hong Kong's total box office revenue has reached a new high, or any other positive news, Asian cinema chains can use it all to fleece investors on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange.

This level of efficiency is much higher than that of other industries.

With Hideki Hanyu already planning what would happen after the Asian cinema chain went public, his Bentley soon arrived at its next destination.

The headquarters of the Royal Yacht Club of Hong Kong.

As soon as he entered the headquarters, he saw Michelle Reis, wearing a sun hat, a new white Dior dress, and carrying a Hermès bag, sitting on the sofa in the lobby flipping through a magazine.

However, the woman was clearly not paying attention. As soon as Hideki Yuzuru entered, she noticed him, immediately got up, walked over quickly, and took his arm.

"Darling, I've been waiting for you for so long."

"It's still early, didn't I tell you to come later?"

Hideki Hanyu glanced at his watch and realized there was still some time before lunch.

Li Meiren said sweetly, "I haven't seen you in so long, I want to see you soon."

However, after her coquettish act, Li Meiren didn't forget her business and immediately said to Yu Shengxiu, "Darling, several of the guests you invited have arrived. The one who just arrived was Young Master Zhao San. They are all waiting for you inside."

Hideki Hanyu's visit to the Royal Yacht Club was certainly not to take Li Jiaxin out to sea.

He had made appointments with some of Hong Kong's top tycoons long ago, planning to take a yacht trip to sea to connect with them and casually discuss business collaborations.

Even if no cooperation is reached in the end, it doesn't matter. Sometimes, socializing itself is valuable.

Just like every time he goes to America, he throws parties in Los Angeles and meets with "powerful friends" on the East Coast.

Besides maintaining relationships, the main purpose is also to obtain various information as soon as possible.

The third young master Zhao, who had already arrived, was there on behalf of his father.

After Hideki Yuzuru entered the members' area, he indeed saw Young Master Zhao inside.

Young Master Zhao remained true to his nature, sitting on the sofa with a beauty in each arm.

However, although this guy was embracing a beautiful woman, his attention was entirely focused on the person next to him, who was chatting and laughing.

The person next to her was not a beautiful woman, but Liu Luanxiong, who had previously managed Hideki Yuzuru's business in Taiwan.

(End of this chapter)