A grand feast for the Chinese entertainment industry

Chapter 195 Why

Lin Jianlu doesn't understand stock trading, and he never did it in his previous life.

I don't understand finance. At most, I started to learn about the basic patterns of the dollar's fluctuations from watching videos on my phone, including terms like interest rate hikes and balance sheet reduction, and interest rate cuts and balance sheet expansion.

Regarding the 1997 Southeast Asian financial crisis, the most he knew was that Southeast Asian currencies such as the Thai baht had plummeted, and that Hong Kong's defense of the Hong Kong dollar was ultimately won with the support of the national government.

That's it.

To elaborate further, he must have watched similar explanatory videos in his previous life, which left some impression. In addition, through his daily observations and reflections in this life, he gradually began to understand the causal relationship between the Southeast Asian financial crisis and the subsequent explosion of US stocks, especially the explosion of internet stocks.

It has already been verified that the loan of 8600 million US dollars equivalent to Thai baht not only worked for free, but also earned him a net profit of about 3800 million US dollars in less than a year. Starting in September of this year, US stocks suddenly began to rise, especially internet stocks. What's more, Yahoo, the leader of internet stocks, doubled its market value in less than a month. These are all clear proofs.

However, he still had no idea that the Southeast Asian financial crisis had dealt such a severe blow to Hong Kong—on October 20th, the very day international capital launched its attack on Hong Kong, the Taiwanese authorities suddenly announced their abandonment of the New Taiwan Dollar's exchange rate, causing the New Taiwan Dollar to fall by 3.46% that day. Simultaneously, this also put even greater pressure on the Hong Kong Dollar! As a result, the Hang Seng Index in Hong Kong plummeted by more than 2000 points in a single day!

Countless stocks plummeted!
Although the Hong Kong dollar has held up for now, according to experts in news reports, the Hong Kong government has paid a heavy price. Specifically, its rice reserves have been significantly depleted.

It's hard to say who will win or lose. Even if Lin Jianlu listens to the various explanations and analyses from those experts, he still doesn't quite understand. It's true that different fields are like different worlds. But the result is relatively clear: the Hong Kong dollar held on and did not experience a dramatic devaluation like the Thai baht and Indonesian rupiah.

However, a large amount of speculative capital still plundered enormous profits from Hong Kong.

There has been no news of government intervention, and the Southeast Asian financial crisis, at least for now, seems far from over. Therefore, Lin Jianlu speculates that there will likely be another round of attacks on Hong Kong!
Since he returned to Hong Kong at noon on the 20th, he immediately heard the news about the stock market and foreign exchange market. He lost all interest in doing anything else. Apart from spending time with his son, he didn't even bother with women and focused all his attention on watching the big battle.

On the 20th, there were already reports of people jumping off buildings. By the 21st, even more people had jumped. Suddenly, all the newspapers, radio stations, and television stations in Hong Kong were filled with news about the financial crisis. Even those newspapers that used to publish articles criticizing or mocking Lam Kin-lu for being "unprepared" and "a poor man suddenly becoming rich" suddenly stopped and turned to discussing this financial war.

In short... it's practically a page full of lamentations.

Some media outlets are more optimistic, believing that although Hong Kong has suffered losses, its economic fundamentals remain positive, and the Hong Kong government's strategy to deal with international speculative capital has been effective. They suggest that with caution and vigilance, and backed by the motherland, there shouldn't be any major problems. They urge all Hong Kong residents and businesses not to lament about the future, as it remains bright.

However, some media outlets have taken a different approach – some believe it's due to the handover, otherwise, a free port like Hong Kong, under British jurisdiction (which shares the same origins as America), wouldn't be attacked. They completely forget that Singapore, also a free port, has long been under attack, and even their spiritual homeland, the United States, was severely exploited by international speculative capital a few years ago.

So saying this at this time is pure evil.

Others have been pessimistic about Hong Kong, believing that international speculative funds will definitely attack again, and Hong Kong will definitely not be able to hold on. They believe that "a century of accumulation may be destroyed in an instant." Some even suggested that the Hong Kong Chief Executive should go to Wall Street to beg for help, saying, "Breaking one person's waist will save thousands of homes!"

In short, gods and demons are dancing wildly, and all sorts of clowns are making a ruckus, confusing and bewildering people's minds.

At this time, even though Hong Kong was suffering heavy losses and the stock market was almost entirely in glaring red, representing a decline, a series of stocks still stood out and became the focus of everyone's attention—because they had fallen the most, in a truly devastating way!

Lai Sun Group.

The Lin Bo-xin family controls a series of stocks, led by Lai Sun Garment and Lai Sun Development. Even when everyone else was falling, these stocks still hit new lows and showed a new style of decline.

In just two or three days, the entire Lai Sun Group's market capitalization plummeted from over HK$60 billion to less than HK$20 billion. Lai Sun Development, under the control of the family's second son, Lam Kin-yue, which was responsible for acquiring the Furama Hotel in Central, suffered an epic plunge starting October 20th. This was due to the fact that in order to complete the feat of spending HK$69 billion to acquire the hotel and boost the stock price to prove his personal ability, he incurred a high-interest debt of HK$69 billion. The stock price fell from HK$12 per share to HK$0.06 per share!

One Hong Kong dollar is equal to 100 Hong Kong cents.

This is a unit of currency called "one cent"!

A 200-fold drop!
By October 22, after international speculative capital had made its profits and temporarily retreated, people gradually came to their senses and paid more attention to Lai Sun Development, which had plummeted. As a result, more information was suddenly disclosed. It is said that in order to obtain the HK$69 billion loan, Lai Sun Development, owned by Lam Kin-yue, agreed to an annual interest rate of 7.45%, which means that the annual interest payment for this loan would be as high as HK$5.14 million!
Before the stock market crash, Lai Sun Development's market capitalization was just over HK$140 billion, and its net profit for the entire year of 1996 was only HK$4.2 million—not even enough to pay off the interest!
Now, Lai Sun Development's share price has fallen to 6 Hong Kong cents, and its market value is only HK$7000 million!
More inside stories were subsequently revealed—the Furama Hotel in Central, which had been open for many years, was once the most famous hotel in Hong Kong. Its 360-degree revolving restaurant on the top floor was known for its high prices, making it unaffordable for anyone but the super-rich, yet it attracted countless people to dine there. However, today, the interior decoration is old and dilapidated, the number of customers is dwindling, and it has been losing money year after year, just short of closing down. Before Lin Jianyue decided to acquire it, the industry estimated that the hotel and its property and land were worth a maximum of HK$20 billion, while other companies had previously inquired about the price, and the owner of the Furama Hotel had offered HK$31 billion!
When Lai Sun Development's Lam Kin-yue inquired about the price, the owner's offer was HK$72 billion. However, Lam Kin-yue got carried away and was extremely eager to make some achievements while his father was away. So, he ended up spending a fortune through a high-interest loan to acquire the hotel for a staggering HK$69 billion.

Now, with HK$69 billion in high-interest loans hanging over their heads, and annual interest payments exceeding HK$500 million strangling their necks, the fact that the purchases themselves already meant a loss of at least HK$49 billion the moment they were made is like a sharp sword pressed against their chest. This series of events ultimately caused a listed company with a market value of over HK$10 billion to be unable to withstand the slight turmoil in the stock market, and its market value evaporated completely in just two or three days.

On October 23, Lai Sun Development issued a brief statement in the evening paper, saying that Mr. Lam Pak-yan, Chairman of the Board of Directors of Lai Sun Group, was scheduled to return to Hong Kong the next day to deal with the situation, and that he would definitely give all shareholders and investors an explanation. On the same day, Taiwanese media reported that Lam Pak-yan had been forced to stay in Taiwan for nearly a year to be investigated for allegedly bribing senior Taiwanese officials in a land acquisition and development project. Today, a settlement was finally reached, with Lam Pak-yan pleading guilty and willing to pay a ransom of up to HK$13 billion.

Ah……

This series of dramatic events is truly spectacular.

…………

October 23, 10 PM.

At Zhou Huimin's home.

There was clanging and banging in the kitchen, but in the living room outside, Lin Jianlu was only wearing a pair of shorts, holding her phone and chatting happily with Lao Duan from Rolling Stone Records on the other end of the line.

Old Duan boasted that back in July, when Thailand and Indonesia were attacked, he had a premonition that things were going badly. So, under the guise of investment, he exchanged a large sum of US dollars for his company. Now, his prediction has finally come true. The Taiwanese authorities surrendered without firing a single shot, abandoning their defense of the exchange rate. In just three days, the New Taiwan Dollar has fallen by 6.2%. In other words, the US dollars he exchanged in advance have yielded a 6% profit in just three months. Lin Jianlu clicked his tongue repeatedly, praising Duan, "You're really awesome! How could I be so stupid? I never thought of doing it this way!"
Hey, Lao Duan really enjoyed it.

When people are feeling triumphant, what they need most is a few words of praise. If the person they are talking to has always seemed exceptionally shrewd and is someone they value highly, then a few words of praise at this moment seem to confirm that "you are not as good as me, and there are things in which you are not as good as me," making the feeling of satisfaction even stronger.

In fact, he never thought that Lin Jianlu never kept any New Taiwan Dollars. Whenever he had them, he would exchange them for US Dollars. Moreover, he directly requested US Dollars for the royalties he received from Rolling Stone!
After chatting for a full twenty minutes, Lao Duan hung up happily. Lin Jianlu was also pleased, because he had received firsthand news from the Taiwanese media that evening—ah, a ransom of HK$13 billion, or rather, a fine. This morning's newspapers even reported that someone had calculated that the Lin family's original stock holdings should have been worth a staggering HK$200 billion, but today, they had plummeted to only HK$18 billion.

The family, which was once a wealthy family with assets of tens of billions, has now seen its assets shrink to less than HK$30 billion, even including the properties, debts and other wealth held by the family.

Of course, even a fallen camel is bigger than a horse, and a fallen tiger still has its might. After all, Lin Baixin is a veteran tycoon who has dominated Hong Kong for many years. As long as he is still alive, his network of connections will remain, and the Lin family will always have a chance to make a comeback. In fact, Lin Jianlu knows better than anyone else that although this round of financial crisis has bled Southeast Asia, Hong Kong, Taiwan, Japan and South Korea, Hong Kong has national-level support, so the result is already the best. It will definitely be able to recover in a few years.

Therefore, as long as the Lin family's shareholding remains unchanged, and neither the company nor the individuals sell their properties, the Lin family will continue to be billionaires.

However, a fortune of tens of billions of Hong Kong dollars will no longer be considered significant in Hong Kong's future – this financial crisis can be seen as a reshuffling in a sense.

Those who weathered the storm and suffered minimal losses, such as Li Ka-shing, will then rely on their strategic planning and quick maneuvering before, during, and after the crisis to rise completely and become "supermen."

It's important to know that the current richest person in Hong Kong is not Li Ka-shing, but the Li Zhaoji family! However, after this round of financial crisis, it is clear that Li Ka-shing is about to become the richest person in the Chinese community.

As for those who couldn't hold on, well, the Lin family can probably be considered an example. They still have wealth, and it's still at a level that ordinary people couldn't accumulate in several lifetimes. But from an overall perspective, in the overall economic landscape of Hong Kong, their family can already be classified as having been eliminated!

Yes, Lin Jianyue! Hehe!

Arriving at the kitchen door, I opened it to find Vivian Chow cooking. Hearing the noise, she turned around, smiled, tilted her head, and looked incredibly cute. "Just a little longer, ten minutes!"

Lin Jianlu simply went inside, hugged her from behind, and sniffed the air a few times. "Are you sure it's really safe to eat?"

Vivian Chow laughed, turned around, wrinkled her nose, and said with a smug look, "Of course! I'm a great cook!"

Well, I'll remain skeptical for now.

Among the sisters in Hong Kong, the only one Lin Jianlu was sure could cook and whose cooking was quite good was Wang Zuxian. But Zhou Huimin insisted on cooking for him, so let's give it a try!
His chin rested on her shoulder, and his hand instinctively slipped into her hoodie. She raised her hand and slapped him away, "Ugh! I'm cooking, get out, get out!"

Sure enough, within ten minutes, three dishes and a soup were served.

It has both meat and vegetables; whether it tastes good or not is another matter, but first of all, it looks excellent.

Well, judging by the plating alone, it's really comparable to Wang Zuxian's.

However, at this moment, Lin Jianlu was already busy making phone calls again. Even after taking the chopsticks back, she was still chatting. "Just keep watch! Just be careful and spread the word." After Ge Fuhong on the other end of the phone agreed and hung up, Lin Jianlu put away her phone. Under Zhou Huimin's expectant gaze, she picked up a piece of food with her chopsticks. "Hmm, you know what, it tastes pretty good!"

No exaggeration, the taste is genuinely good, comparable to Wang Zuxian's culinary skills.

Upon hearing this, Vivian Chow smiled happily, "Right? I've been learning to cook from my mother since I was little. By the time I was twelve or thirteen, I could already cook many dishes!"

Then he suddenly asked, "Who were you talking to on the phone just now? What message were you spreading? I get the feeling that the expression on your face when you were on the phone was like you were trying to trick or deceive someone!"

"Nonsense! How could I lie? In business, there's a lot of truth and falsehood involved. Spreading out a false message to test them out, how can that be considered lying!"

Vivian Chow laughed.

When she smiles, she likes to purse her lips and slightly hunch her neck, which makes her look especially adorable.

After dinner, while watching TV, I suddenly felt like having sex on the sofa. I was a little disappointed that I couldn't find any cigarettes afterwards. Zhou Huimin was still lounging there when Ge Fuhong suddenly called Lin Jianlu again, asking if she could inform her husband, Brother Qiu, about his plans for developing Lixin. She knew that Brother Qiu had been forced to retreat to Taiwan a few years ago for various reasons and had been considering coming to Hong Kong. She said that maybe there would be an opportunity for cooperation between the two sides.

But Lin Jianlu thought for a moment and said, "Let's skip it! It's just fake news. There's no point in telling Mr. Qiu it's fake news, and it's like deceiving him if you don't tell him it's fake news. Let's wait until he hears about it from the market. If he's interested in discussing cooperation with me, then we can talk about it then."

Ge Fuhong thought for a moment, but had nothing to say, so she hung up the phone.

…………

The next morning, several Hong Kong media outlets disclosed a startling piece of news—it is rumored that international superstar Lam Kin-lu has been heavily criticized in Hong Kong for his previous remarks about the Furama Hotel and ATV, especially after being attacked and humiliated by Lam Kin-yuet. Although he has not responded, he has not been idle. Today, he was shocked to hear that Lai Sun Group's stock price has plummeted, and he has raised funds to acquire Lai Sun Development, which is mired in a stock market crash.

Lai Sun Development's current market value is only HK$7000 million. No one would doubt that Lin Jianlu, an international superstar, would not have such financial resources. His villa in Mid-Levels was sold for as much as HK$1.18 million more than half a year ago. At that time, his English album had not yet been released!

When the Hong Kong stock market opened in the morning, Lai Sun Development's stock price suddenly took off, and the stock prices of many other companies in the Lai Sun Group also rebounded rapidly. Ge Fuhong's phone had already been ringing off the hook with calls from reporters from all over Hong Kong!
And, just as Ge Fuhong expected, a little after nine in the morning, Lin Jianlu was on set, watching the crew set up the green screen with a slightly anxious expression. Zhang Yimou, Gu Changwei, Li Pingbin, and others were discussing camera setup with Tang Jili when Mr. Qiu from Taiwan called. "Ah Lu, are you really interested in Lai Sun Development? You have to be careful. Those people in Hong Kong stick together. If you take over Lai Sun Development now, let alone whether you can succeed, you're very likely to face a collective boycott from many old-school businessmen in Hong Kong. At that point, the outcome might not be pleasant!"

Lin Jianlu smiled. He had met Qiu twice before, so they weren't strangers. Of course, since his debut, he had always addressed people as "brother" regardless of their age. He wondered if Qiu would think he was being impolite. "Brother Qiu, is this something you did on purpose?"

Upon hearing this, Boss Qiu laughed and said, "I know what you're thinking. I did a bit to help Lin Baixin get back to Hong Kong this time, but Ah Hong doesn't know it. Did she tell you that I also wanted to go to Hong Kong? Ha, I can't go now! At least I can't have my eye on the Lin family's businesses anymore! Besides, I have to call you and hope you can give me some face and let him off the hook!"

Lin Jianlu laughed again, "Although Lai Sun Group is indeed heavily indebted and suffering huge losses, it still had a market value of HK$120 billion before the stock market crash. Lin Jianyue messed around and even raised the market value to HK$140 billion. Now it's only HK$7000 million. I'm calculating that even if we can acquire it for three or four hundred million, we won't lose money!"

Boss Qiu chuckled, "You! That's enough! It's really not worth making enemies with the Lin family for a woman! Besides, you've already got that woman! It's just that the Lin family's son is jealous, that's why he's talking nonsense everywhere. He's just a kid, he doesn't know what's good for him and he's making enemies recklessly! But his father is sensible! At worst, I'll pass on the message and ask the Lin family's second young master to formally apologize to you in the newspaper, how about that?"

Lin Jianlu laughed again, "Kids? Please, Brother Qiu, I'm twenty-one years old this year! Lin Jianyue is almost forty, right? Or over forty? Who among us is a kid!"

The big boss on the other end of the phone laughed heartily. Seeing Lin Jianlu tossing and turning, seemingly unwilling to give him face, he could only sigh after laughing. "The ancients often said, 'Beautiful women can bring ruin to a country!' Whether they can bring ruin to a country, I don't know, but they can certainly bring ruin to a family! Sigh... Well then, you name your terms, and I'll pass them on to the Lin family. What do you think?"

"Brother Qiu, are you really that close to the Lin family?"

"Ha! I know what you want to ask! Don't even mention the Lin family now, they're like fish on a chopping board. Even a few years ago, I would at most show some respect to Lin Baixin because of his age! But now, they're in trouble and have come to me for help. The situation is complicated and hard to explain. After thinking about it carefully, I'm still willing to make this call to you, hoping you can give me some face and let them go!"

Lin Jianlu remained silent, lost in thought.

His original intention was indeed just to bluff, but he never expected that he would actually trick Boss Qiu into revealing himself. Moreover, judging from the tone of his voice, it was the old man of the Lin family, Lin Baixin, who had put in a good word for him.

This is a pleasant surprise.

It seems that the Lin family has indeed declined drastically. Even though Lin Baixin spent money to avoid disaster and rushed back to Hong Kong to try to clean up the mess, he was actually frightened by the attack of a small-time actress like himself!
They've become like frightened birds!
"Alright... since your brother Qiu has spoken, I should give you face. Have Lin Jianyue publish an apology in the newspaper, and make it sincere, then we'll let this matter go!"

"Okay! Thank you so much, Lu! I guess I owe you one!"

"You're too kind, Brother Qiu!"

After hanging up the phone, Lin Jianlu remained calm. He thought for less than five seconds before picking up his phone again and dialing his private manager at HSBC.

"I need a loan of 200 million US dollars, preferably 300 million US dollars. Can you arrange that?"

"As long as you're willing to provide collateral, there's no problem."

"Okay! Please prepare all the necessary paperwork in advance. I hope I won't need it, but if I do, I hope the funds will be available within 24 hours!"

"no problem!"

After hanging up the phone and pondering for a while, seeing the scene still in chaos, Lin Jianlu was speechless. He directly called over the person in charge sent by Columbia Pictures, pointed at him, and scolded, "We were almost done. It was only after Mr. Stringer personally intervened that I agreed to Columbia Pictures' involvement. It was also after Dame personally called me that you were sent to set up the green screen, even causing us to breach the contract. Now, I have seen your work efficiency with my own eyes. I am officially informing you that if you can't get this done within three days, you're fired! I will personally call Dame, and I will make sure your reputation for deliberately dragging things out spreads throughout Hollywood! Now, fucking speed things up right now, or you can expect to lose your job and be sued!"

His voice was loud, and his tone was particularly harsh and fierce. In an instant, the entire set fell silent after he had only said a few words, gradually becoming so quiet that you could hear a pin drop. A group of people from the mainland and Hong Kong stared at Lin Jianlu in disbelief, astonished that he dared to speak so rudely to the people sent by Columbia Pictures. Meanwhile, a group of professionals from Columbia Pictures couldn't help but look at the person who had been scolded.

“Uh, Mr. Lin, we…”

"Shut up! Three days!"

She held up three fingers to show him, "Otherwise, you can wait for Daim to call you!"

After saying that, Lin Jianlu turned and left.

The man shrugged, but after a few hesitations, he turned around helplessly. "Hey! What are you standing there for? You're all working overtime for the next three days! If you don't get it done in three days, you'll all be unemployed!"

…………

On October 24, 1997, just as several newspapers were reporting that morning that Lam Kin-lu intended to acquire Lai Sun Development, Hong Kong's Wen Wei Po published a public apology letter from Lam Kin-yue, the second son of the Lam family—a public apology to Lam Kin-lu, stating that the past was purely a misunderstanding and that he was provoked by others, which led him to say many inappropriate things that hurt Mr. Lam, blah blah blah!
It wasn't that I was being sincere; I just had that general idea in mind.

However, Lin Jianlu reciprocated the favor by appearing in public the next morning to give an interview to reporters. He personally refuted the news published in the newspapers and stated that as someone who came from the poorest family and made his way to where he is today, he greatly respects the hardships of the older generation in starting their businesses and would never do anything to kick someone when they are down. He also expressed his belief that under Mr. Lin Baixin's leadership, Lai Sun Development would soon return to its due market value.

Following the denial, Lai Sun Development's stock price plummeted, falling to HK$0.11 per share by the afternoon. However, the market was more rational than before, and the total market capitalization barely exceeded HK$100 million.

However, even Brigitte Lin and the others didn't quite understand and kept asking questions—

"why?"

"Are you just going to let Lin Jianyue go like that?"

Lin Jianlu remained noncommittal, completely ignoring their questions.

As expected, that very evening he received another call from Boss Qiu, who said, "Someone asked me to inquire whether you are very interested in ATV?"

***
It's been a while since I asked for votes, so I'm asking for a few monthly votes!

(End of this chapter)