A grand feast for the Chinese entertainment industry

Chapter 196 So Popular

Night, a villa halfway up the mountain.

The study was quite large, but at this point, a layer of smoke still filled the area near the ceiling.

Lin Jianlu had a cigarette between his fingers. On the equally large desk in front of him, all sorts of documents were scattered everywhere. There were many annual and semi-annual reports from various companies over the past year or two, as well as internal equity relationship investigations of the Lin family and Lai Sun Group provided by HSBC. There was also a lot of property information from Hong Kong that had been suddenly put up for sale or had to lower prices in the past two days. In short, the huge desk was almost completely covered.

There are many places that Lin Jianlu personally marked and circled, and they have all been turned over and laid out.

In the newly connected call, Boss Qiu asked, "Someone asked me to inquire, and it's said that you're very interested in ATV?"—This question made Lin Jianlu subconsciously pull his attention away from a document. "Huh? ATV? Oh, is that what I told the media before? I was just trying to scare Lin Jianyue; I had no interest in ATV!"

It's not that I'm completely uninterested, it's just that I don't have time or time to be interested right now.

On the table was ATV's 1996 annual report. The Lin family had been in charge of ATV for many years and had indeed worked very hard to run it and compete with TVB. Last year, ATV finally made a profit for the first time, earning HK$1200 million. But in the years before that, ATV had been losing huge sums of money every year, and had lost more than HK$30 billion in total.

From a certain perspective, ATV can even be seen as a huge, bleeding wound on the Lin family!
So, can you make money by buying shares in ATV? Yes, you can!

Although Lam Kin-lu admitted that he didn't have much confidence in running the business, ATV, as a television station that had been able to compete with TVB for many years, already had a very good business foundation.

Moreover, companies that struggle to meet performance targets year after year tend to have fewer instances of internal overstaffing. If you could take over, you would only need to maintain control over the overall direction, offer suggestions, and supervise to prevent things from going astray. Even if it's just about creating variety shows that people in later generations would consider commonplace, it would still be fresh and attractive in this era. Once you boost the ratings, making money wouldn't be a problem.

They are likely to do better than "contemporary people" like the Lin family father and son.

Moreover, many years later, as mainland China fully enters the era of variety shows, they might be able to license the content and make another fortune.

Not to mention, once you own a television station, you create synergy with the numerous film and television companies you've invested in on the mainland, including Media Asia Films, which you've also invested in. To use a more technical term, you could say you've integrated the upstream and downstream of the industry chain. Not long ago, they reached an agreement with Yang Peipei and Zhou Linggang to co-produce a total of over a dozen television dramas, which will then be broadcast directly on ATV. This gives the film and television companies an additional distributor, and the television station a richer selection of content—a win-win situation.

Even if you lose money on this side, you can still make a profit overall.

Of course, all of this, taken together, is still just about making money; it's a minor matter. Their combined importance pales in comparison to the sudden increase in his "united front" value after taking control of a television station in Hong Kong—as long as that value increases, it's worth it for ATV to operate at a loss!

If you have value in the united front, then with the rise of the mainland economy, you can get involved here and there, and there will be many more places to make money. Just one example: I apply for a piece of land in the CBD of the capital, claiming that I want to build a building as the recording center for my ATV. Do you think the capital will approve it? After getting the land, I can delay construction for a few years, and the land price will slowly go up. After slowly building it, I can use it for two years and then resell it for a huge profit!
To put it bluntly, even if ATV loses tens of millions a year, it can make it back in an instant even after ten years!
However... well, with so much information laid out on the table right now, even if you just skim through it without carefully distinguishing it or thinking about it, Lin Jianlu has already found far more investment-worthy projects than Asia Television—in just two or three days, Hong Kong has truly suffered a severe blow from the stock market to the real estate market!

For example, Hong Kong City Telecom currently holds 97% of the telephone, mobile phone, and internet businesses in Hong Kong, giving it an absolute monopoly. It also owns a portion of the cable television business. Last year, its turnover exceeded HK$200 billion, with a net profit of HK$61 billion. Now, its total market value is less than HK$400 billion.

Its major shareholder is the Eastern Telegraph Company, which is entirely British-owned.

Why target it? Because in my past life, a video blogger exposed the Incredibles family, including the career paths of his two sons. Incredibles was a hot topic at the time, and I, Lin Jianlu, also came across it. I vaguely remember that Old Li's second son later started a tech port, which was during the hottest period before the global internet stock crash. They seem to have acquired Hong Kong City Telecom, thus creating a behemoth with a total market value of nearly HK$6000 billion around 2000!
It's obvious that this is a huge bubble!

But it doesn't matter. Now we can take a stake in Hong Kong City Telecom. When the second son of the Li family has amassed this behemoth, we can sell it at the right time and make several times, or even ten times, the profit. It won't take long, at most two or three years!

Through diligent recollection, careful consideration, and extensive research, Lin Jianlu is now almost as confident as if he could succeed in this endeavor and make a fortune as he was in buying Yahoo! – the perks of being a time traveler truly come into play when encountering such a momentous era.

Even if you're just an ordinary person, even if you only knew bits and pieces of information in your past life, that's enough!

Moreover, even if Li Lao Er didn't do that, the future era will definitely be the era of mobile phones and the Internet. Hong Kong City Telecom holds more than 97% of the mobile phone and Internet business market in Hong Kong. Even if they don't get the benefits of the Internet stock boom, holding this stock is a sure way to make money!
For another example, in this round of blows that lasted only a few days, the capital market, which reacts the fastest, was the first to be damaged, specifically the Hong Kong stock market. The reaction to the real estate market was definitely a step behind, but that's okay. Look, even Joseph Lau, who is known as the best at stock market sniping, has to sell his properties to protect himself!
Moreover, Liu is particularly ruthless when he makes a move, directly cutting prices in half and selling off his stock at a huge discount!

Located at 38 Gloucester Road, Wan Chai, Hong Kong Island, the Manton Building was completed and put into use in 1987. It has 26 floors, is 94.85 meters tall, with a standard floor area of ​​1234 square meters and a total gross floor area of ​​32090.9 square meters. In 1987, during the stock market crash, when stock and land prices plummeted, Joseph Lau invested HK$1.6 million to purchase a 40% stake in the building. The remaining 60% is still held by American Express Insurance.

Moreover, even now, the building is still mostly rented by Vantone Insurance, and the annual rent is not high, but it is not low either.

But now, Liu is going to put his 40% stake in Wantong Building up for sale.

How much are you asking?

HK$2.1 million!
This means that Liu, as a capital tycoon, stock market tycoon, and real estate tycoon, valued the Vantone Building at only HK$5.25 million!
It's important to understand that even before this round of Hong Kong stock market crash, land and property prices in Hong Kong had been declining for some time. Compared to the early 1990s, property prices had already fallen by 30% to 50%. A commercial building like the Wantong Building, with a floor area of ​​over 30,000 square meters and located in the core area of ​​Hong Kong Island, should have been worth at least a billion Hong Kong dollars. Just three to five months ago, when Lau was selling his 40% stake, the asking price of 500 million to 600 million was considered market value! It would probably have sold very well!
The Furama Hotel building in Central, a building constructed in the early 1970s, even disregarding the HK$69 billion price tag that Lam Kin-yue was forced to pay, is worth at least HK$2 billion according to industry estimates!

The two buildings are no more than 500 meters apart as the crow flies!
They are all located in the heart of Hong Kong Island!
Now, although a major stock market crash has occurred and the Hang Seng Index has plummeted, it has not yet had time to spread to land and property prices. If we compare the asking prices of similar property assets, Lau should also ask for around HK$4 million.

Therefore, the fire sale at HK$2.1 million is definitely a sign that Lau sensed the crisis and was making a hasty escape!
According to information Lin Jianlu obtained from a private manager at HSBC, Liu had been frantically hoarding land for the past few years, resulting in consistently high debt ratios for his companies. Now, with the financial crisis and plummeting stock prices, the loans he secured using his shares as collateral are facing the problem of insufficient collateral value. It's uncertain when banks will withdraw their loans, and with stock prices falling and people panicking, it would be strange if land prices didn't drop! So, the next inescapable predicament is that the loans secured by land and properties will also become insufficient in value!

What can be done?
They're rushing to sell land to alleviate the financial crisis!
In the heart of Hong Kong Island, a 32,000-square-meter commercial building is valued at just over HK$500 million!

Ten years from now, it will be worth at least HK$50 billion!
Twenty years from now, its value will easily exceed HK$100 billion!
Moreover, once Hong Kong weathers this financial crisis and takes two or three years to make internal adjustments, the land price of commercial buildings will definitely rebound rapidly, making them the best real estate and the best collateral!
Since his transmigration, Lin Jianlu has taken out Thai baht loans, mortgaged his property and future income, made a large-scale purchase of Yahoo, and so on. His original mindset of being content with a modest fortune and even retiring after making ten million RMB has long since disappeared. He is now frighteningly bold!
Although he doesn't understand or dare to get involved in overly financial matters, he's very willing to try the simplest and most basic financial tricks: buying things, mortgaging them, and then using the mortgaged loan to buy more things!

In this turbulent and turbulent era, it can be said that few people are bolder than him—he can see the future clearly, his confidence is so strong it's almost explosive, so of course he is not afraid at all!
The 40% stake in Wantong Building held by Liu is just one of his targets.

There are countless people who take big steps and end up hurting themselves.

Even before the financial crisis hit, there were already plenty of people scrambling to find money to help those in need.

The key is whether you are optimistic about the future of something, whether you dare to invest, and whether you have the money to invest!
For example, according to information provided by HSBC, which is probably the most basic publicly available information, as early as March of this year, the Li family, currently Hong Kong's richest man, had already publicly offered property options for sale. Several years ago, Li acquired a plot of land in Central and obtained approval for a reclamation project. Construction had already begun, and it was even halfway completed. This project is called the Hong Kong International Finance Centre.

The tower consists of Tower A and Tower B. Tower A is designed to be 180 meters tall and was topped out in June. It is planned to be put into use next year. Tower B is designed to be 420 meters tall and is planned to be put into use in 2003.

When the project was launched, the total investment, including land acquisition, expected construction funds, and initial decoration, had already reached HK$28 billion. As the project is progressing steadily and future profits are expected, in March of this year, Li Zhaoji offered 40% of the shares for sale, with a asking price of HK$14 billion – which is equivalent to raising the valuation of the entire project to HK$35 billion.

It is said that in June, a Malaysian company was close to reaching an agreement with Li Zhaoji, with only some details remaining to be finalized. However, on July 2, the Southeast Asian financial crisis broke out, and the cooperation was quickly aborted – the Malaysian company was already struggling to survive.

As of the end of September, Li Zhaoji adjusted the offer price, lowering the valuation of the entire project from HK$12 billion for 40% equity to HK$30 billion.

But that's all in the past!
Lin Jianlu believed that as long as he dared to make contact and was willing to pay, the Li family would most likely be willing to give him a huge discount—when everyone is short of money, if you have money, then you are the boss!

Lin Jianlu doesn't actually have any money, but he has credit and an incredible future earning potential that he can use as collateral!

And most importantly, this earning power does not rely on the economic environment of Hong Kong or Taiwan at all—21 mainly sells to Europe and America!
Moreover, it's not just Henderson Land Development's International Finance Centre under Li Zhaoji that has a major asset in the hands of Lin Baixin and Lin Jianyue's Lai Sun Group. Lin Jianlu has been researching and reviewing annual reports for the past few days, but the Hong Kong media has been somewhat irresponsible in their reporting on this asset, as no one has mentioned it! It was only in a summary report on Lai Sun Group's internal assets and cross-shareholdings provided by HSBC that it was mentioned briefly.

Right next to the still-unfinished International Finance Centre under Henderson Land Development, on Man Yiu Street in Central, the Lin family holds a plot of land. It's undeveloped, covering 4.79 square meters, with approved building area of ​​approximately 15 square meters. The Lin family acquired it in 91 for HK$1.22 million, with the land use right expiring in 2004. They had even negotiated a 50-year extension with the Hong Kong government in 1994 for HK$5.4 million – presumably with ambitious plans to build a mega-skyscraper. However, for some reason, the extension wasn't signed, and the project never started, leaving the land vacant to this day. Ironically, while Lin Pak-yan was stranded in Taiwan, Lin Kin-yue, in an effort to quickly generate revenue, opted for a high-interest loan of HK$69 billion to acquire the Furama Hotel in Central!
If it weren't for this sudden financial crisis, Lin Jianyue, who had already successfully boosted Lai Sun Development's stock price through the acquisition, might have been able to gradually digest the tough nut of the Furama Hotel, including its massive debt, over a slightly longer period of time.

Similarly, given enough time and environment, the Lin family might also build on the land of Min Yao Street in the new seaside area. Once the impact of the financial crisis has completely passed and Hong Kong is thriving again, with land and property prices soaring, the Lin family might not fall behind and could continue to be among the top-tier wealthy families in Hong Kong.

But, there is no if.

Lin Jianlu is certain that Hong Kong's future in the new landscape of the internet will be bleak, with the only thing worth looking forward to being short-term operations like Hong Kong City Telecom. However, Lin Jianlu is equally certain that in the next twenty years, Hong Kong's land and property prices will absolutely experience an incredible surge!

Buying houses and villas no longer holds much interest for Lin Jianlu.

Lately, he's been thinking about whether he can seize the opportunity to buy commercial buildings or even land in Hong Kong. Of course, Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou, and Shenzhen in mainland China are great, with huge investment value and super appreciation potential, but there's no rush there. He wants to acquire some substantial assets in Hong Kong first, and once land prices recover, he can take out loans and buy land in Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou, or Shenzhen. There's plenty of time!

"You're not interested in ATV?"

On the other end of the phone, Boss Qiu was clearly taken aback. "This... Haha, Lu, I'm serious. After getting to know you for so long, I've really realized that Ah Hong's assessment of you was absolutely right! You really don't seem like an artist at all. Most of the time, you're more like a businessman!"

"Hey! Brother Qiu, that's pure slander! If I'm not an artist, then who is?"

"Hahaha! Okay, okay, okay! Then I'll revise it: you're the best businessman among artists, and the top artist among businessmen! Is that alright?"

"Hmm...it's alright! Haha...Brother Qiu, I'm not kidding, I really have no interest in ATV."

"Really?"

"real."

Perhaps Lin Jianlu's answer was too decisive and straightforward, because on the other end of the phone, Boss Qiu pondered for a long time before saying, "The Lin family is in big trouble this time and has no choice but to cut off an arm to survive. Since we have to cut off an arm, we should naturally prioritize selling off the parts that are unrelated to the main business. ATV is that part!"

He paused, then added, "However, given the current situation, firstly, there aren't many people willing to take over ATV. Secondly... everyone has an unspoken understanding. Even if I offered 100 billion, I couldn't buy it. Hong Kong has already returned to China. Going forward, the Lin family can choose not to sell, but if they do, it can only be to mainlanders. Ah Lu, you understand what I mean, right? We can negotiate a lower price!"

"Because there aren't many mainland companies willing to come to Hong Kong to take over ATV at this time, and they have enough money to do so. Moreover, to avoid provoking various sectors of Hong Kong society, it can't be state-owned capital. At this time, you, an international superstar, have money in your hands and are considered by everyone to be more capable of running ATV well. You are even more rare! ...Lam Pak-yan cares about his reputation. He made a promise to ATV that he would definitely lead ATV to better and better, and just a few years ago he promised that he would never sell ATV! It's probably only if you take over that he can at least give ATV a satisfactory explanation to everyone at ATV!"

As the conversation deepened, Lin Jianlu had unconsciously dropped her playful demeanor.

What was their quote?

"Lin Baixin plans to sell his 51% stake in ATV for HK$8 million!"

“51% is no good, no discussion. If my information is correct, he has a total of 67.08%. If I want to buy, I have to take it all… Well, at most I can leave him a tiny fraction, 0.08%, as a way to fulfill his promise that he will never sell ATV. But 67% as a package deal, no discussion!”

"Hahaha! I knew it! You're a musician, and you're so mature and steady. There's no reason why you would go along with a spoiled brat like Lin Jianyue! So you really do want to buy ATV, don't you? Hahaha! But... doesn't your way of putting it... seem a bit too aggressive?"

“I have money. He needs money.”

"Hahaha... That makes sense! Name your price?"

"Seven hundred million Hong Kong dollars! And there are conditions attached!"

"Tell me!"

"The Lin family owns a plot of land on Man Yiu Street in the New Harbourfront, Central. The lease expires in 2004, with only seven years left. They can no longer build on it themselves and would need to extend the lease for 50 years, which would require several hundred million HKD. I doubt they can afford that right now. I'll offer you 70 million HKD to sell it to me!"

"You want to buy land?"

Boss Qiu was quite surprised, and immediately advised, "You can't touch real estate, Ah Lu. Your brother Qiu also wanted to get into real estate a few years ago, but now that I think about it, I'm glad I didn't! Go and see the current property listing market in Hong Kong, it's fallen to a whole level, it's practically a scene of carnage!"

"Next, I am certain that international capital will definitely launch a second attack on Hong Kong and the Hong Kong dollar! The Hong Kong market is so small, and its dollar reserves have been largely depleted. It definitely cannot withstand a second round. Even if it survives the second round, there will most likely be a third round! Until Hong Kong is completely drained!"

"It's hard to say about other things, but Hong Kong's status as an international financial center is probably going to be completely destroyed! At best, it will be a free port, and maybe it can still be positioned as a shopping center or tourist center. As for real estate, it's hard to say what the future holds! Especially commercial real estate projects, it's tough! Extremely risky!"

While he couldn't comment on other things, and didn't agree with the theories, Qiu's words sounded quite sincere, which made Lin Jianlu appreciate them. However, he said, "Let's gamble! I bet the mainland will never allow Hong Kong to be taken down like this!"

Upon hearing this, Boss Qiu on the other end of the phone fell silent.

After a while, he said again, "Okay! I will convey your requirements and quote to the Lin family."

"Thanks!"

"You're welcome!"

…………

Just a few minutes after the phone call ended, Wang Zuxian suddenly knocked on the door, came in, and brought a cup of coffee.

As soon as she opened the door, she frowned, fanned herself with her hand, looked at Lin Jianlu, and said, "Why have you been smoking so much these past few days?" Lin Jianlu smiled at her, put down the documents in her hand, got up to get a coffee, rummaged through a few documents and put them on the table, then hugged her and said with a smile, "I've had a lot to think about these past few days, I couldn't resist!"

After kissing, Wang Zuxian quickly said, "I want to go back to my little house tomorrow and stay for a few days."

"Okay! Then I'll sleep in your room tonight!"

Wang Zuxian smiled, neither confirming nor denying, but instead changed the subject, looking around the room. Suddenly, she exclaimed, "Ah! There!" and broke free from her embrace, went to another panel next to the air conditioner control button, and pressed a switch. Suddenly, a whooshing sound came from the room, followed by the salty smell of the sea.

"Oh, there's an exhaust fan?"

She turned around and smiled, "You haven't lived here long enough! You don't even know what's in your own house! This is an air purification system; the whole villa has one."

Lin Jianlu went over again, hugged her a second time, and said gently, "I'll stay here more often from now on."

The atmosphere instantly became enchanting, and Wang Zuxian's face unconsciously broke into a wider smile. He nodded gently and hummed in agreement. A typhoon was approaching outside the window, and it was unclear where it was making landfall. In any case, the harbor had been swept away to the very edge, and the wind and rain were already raging.

With the beautiful woman in his arms, Lin Jianlu couldn't help but lean in and kiss her.

However, before he could make a further move, his phone suddenly rang again. Lin Jianlu pursed his lips, shrugged, and patted Wang Zuxian's butt. "Go back to your room and wait for me. I'll feed you before 9:30!"

Wang Zuxian pursed her lips and smiled.

Lin Jianlu turned around, picked up her phone, and answered, "Hello? This is Lin Jianlu."

The general manager of Citibank's Hong Kong branch personally called to offer a mortgage loan of up to US$2.25 million for Lin Jianlu's two major assets: 226 million shares of Yahoo stock, currently valued at US$2.75 million, and 140 million shares of Amazon stock, currently valued at US$5040 million, totaling approximately US$3.25 million. For the other asset, the copyright licensing revenue from his music album "21," after analyzing and comparing numerous similar data, they agreed to offer a loan of US$2 million.

This offer is slightly higher than Wells Fargo's.

This is a clear step above HSBC – mainly in terms of the proportion of collateral for US stocks like Yahoo and Amazon. Obviously, compared to HSBC, which is based in the Far East and also has a large business in America, American banks, which are based in America, have a stronger belief in the future of internet stocks and are more willing to provide a higher proportion of collateral for Yahoo and Amazon stocks.

However, regarding the future revenue that the album "21" can bring to Lin Jianlu in terms of copyright operation, the valuations given by both sides are exactly the opposite—HSBC Bank is slightly higher, providing a collateral limit of 2.2 million US dollars.

In addition, Citibank is willing to provide Lin Jianlu with a loan of up to US$2.5 million for his performance and business income over the next ten years—but he is not allowed to invest in the financial market!
Wells Fargo was more generous in this regard, providing a loan of US$2.8 million.

Then they pledged the future copyright revenue of "21" to HSBC and got 2.2 million US dollars.

He then pledged all of his personal performance and commercial income for the next ten years to Wells Fargo, which would have given him another $2.8 million.

Yahoo and Amazon shares were pledged to Citibank, amounting to $2.25 million.

As for the royalties from "Nocturne," the remaining royalties from "Cold to the End," and the future copyright operation income from the two albums, well, they're not much anyway—let's just forget about it, we won't use them as collateral.

HSBC only provided a collateral limit of less than $30 million, which is not needed for the time being.

Therefore, by exhausting all means, even mortgaging the income of the next ten years, which can be considered as selling oneself, a total of approximately 7.25 million US dollars can be mobilized!
It's roughly HK$53 billion to HK$54 billion.

enough.

…………

May 10, morning.

After being delayed for several days due to set design issues, filming for "The Myth" has finally officially begun.

We worship Guan Yu and slice a roasted pig.

This is the rule of the Hong Kong film and television industry, and it doesn't matter whether it's superstitious or not. In such a small detail, Lin Jianlu doesn't intend to break the old rules that have been used for many years.

Therefore, he led the way in bowing.

The crew members are basically all present.

Producers: Brigitte Lin and Chuang Cheng.

Director, Tang Jili.

Co-directed by Sammo Hung and Zhang Yimou.

Director of Photography: Zhang Yimou.

Photography by Gu Changwei and Li Pingbin.

Art direction: Zhang Shuping, Cao Jiuping.

Action choreography: Yuan Heping, Hong Jinbao.

The film stars Lin Jianlu as the male lead, Wang Zuxian as the female lead, Wu Zhenyu as the main villain, Liang Jiahui as the second male lead and the male lead's uncle, and others. This is Lin Jianlu's first time directing his own film. After careful consideration, he decided that having himself represent the mainland was sufficient, Wang Zuxian would represent Taiwan, and the remaining roles would be given more to Hong Kong actors. After all, not only does Media Asia Films have a strong presence in Hong Kong and need to maintain good relations with the local entertainment industry, but they also rely on Hong Kong to contribute 30 to 40 million Hong Kong dollars to the box office!

In short, "I hereby announce that filming for 'The Myth' has officially begun! May everything go smoothly!"

…………

The scenes to be filmed in the Hong Kong Studios mainly consist of the Qin Dynasty underground palace, also known as the floating palace, which is part of the final climax of the story. The vast majority of these scenes will be filmed against a green screen.

On the first day, Wang Jing came to visit the set to observe the green screen shooting method of "The Myth".

The next day, Xu Ke and Shi Nansheng also came to visit the set.

The filming was bumpy – mainly Lin Jianlu's scenes, and it was mainly him who made the bumpy filming. Firstly, it's hard to say he has any acting skills, and secondly, despite his urging for the green screen to be set up and for the crew to start filming, he was actually a bit distracted once filming began.

The things he cares about are much bigger and more important than making a movie.

On October 25th, just two days ago, Boss Qiu officially conveyed the Lin family's message from the Lai Sun Group: they agreed to sell the land, which still had seven years left on its lease, but would not accept the two offers.

They offered HK$10 billion for a 67.08% stake in ATV and HK$8000 million for the land, totaling HK$10.8 billion!
Lin Jianlu countered with a price of 7.8 million!
This price seemed rather insincere, but that was the market situation. In just a few days, Hong Kong's real estate market began to shake violently, with many listed properties forced to offer drastically reduced prices as people rushed to sell. Even without the complex conditions for taking over ATV that Mr. Qiu had analyzed, even if the Lin family opened up the market, few people would be willing to spend 700 million HKD to take over a television station that had been losing money for many years and had only just turned a profit of 12 million HKD!
Moreover, every industry is like a mountain, and working in television is not an easy job!

Of course, the Lin family hasn't replied yet, and it's uncertain whether they really can't find another buyer. In any case, Lin Jianlu won't raise the price again. The Lin family offered HK$80 million for that land, which he accepted directly. But when ATV offered HK$700 million, he wasn't willing to raise it by even a penny!
Several other things are also in progress—

They commissioned HSBC to submit an offer to Henderson Land Development, owned by Li Zhaoji, for HK$8 million for a 40% stake in the still-under-construction International Finance Centre.

If you accept, it means that Henderson Land will lose a portion of the investment in this real estate project, which started with a total investment of HK$28 billion, before it is even completed. Whether you sell or not is up to you. You have enough money to take care of your own business. There are no loopholes. I suppose you would not prefer to sell at a lower price!

The reason for making such a large-scale purchase of assets at this time is precisely to buy at the bottom, isn't it?
In addition, I asked Citibank to try to make an offer to MassMutual Insurance in America: I'll offer HK$2.5 million for your 60% stake in the MassMutual Tower. Will you sell?
It was purely a matter of taking a chance, because it's said that Vantone Insurance's business performance in recent years hasn't been very good. Otherwise, they wouldn't have chosen to sell 40% of their newly built and put into use building at the very bottom of the stock market crash. However, to everyone's surprise, the other party quickly replied that they would sell!
Offer: HK$3.2 million!
That's obviously not going to work. Given the market conditions, it's not worth that price!
Let's bargain!

The current stalemate is that Lin Jianlu has offered HK$2.75, but the other party insists on not selling for less than HK$2.9 million. It seems they either have to wait or concede a price; a deal is estimated to be around HK$2.8 million.

As for Joseph Lau, he's easier to negotiate with than Vantone Insurance.

Firstly, he took the initiative to put the company up for sale, and secondly, he probably really wanted to get out as soon as possible. This escape might be just a little bit short. Once he made a move and caught his breath, his whole person and his whole business would suddenly come back to life. But if he couldn't cash out in time and plug the hole, the whole chain of debt could very well drag down a company worth tens of billions of dollars in one fell swoop!

Therefore, when HSBC was entrusted to negotiate on his behalf, Lin Jianlu gave an offer of HK$1.5 million. Two hours later, HSBC voluntarily dropped its offer of HK$2.1 million and directly offered a new offer of HK$1.8 million, which can be described as very sincere.

The final price was set at HK$1.66 million. The deal was agreed upon, and all that was left was to sign the papers and make the payment.

After filming in the morning, Lin Jianlu had lunch with Liu Luanxiong at noon, and then they could sign the contract. So in fact, Lin Jianlu would probably be willing to raise the price for Vantone Insurance to around 2.84 million.

It is estimated that the entire Wantong Building could be acquired for 4.5 million yuan.

Then, the vacant properties are currently suspended from being leased out, and those that have already been leased will not be renewed after their contracts expire. This includes Vantone Insurance itself. Although its lease contract was just renewed for another five years this summer, Lin Jianlu would rather pay the more than ten million yuan penalty for breach of contract if it were to be purchased.

The goal is simple: to completely clear out the building.

Then, he planned to spend ten months to a year and invest HK$100 million to renovate and decorate the exterior and interior of the Vantone Building. The current appearance of the Vantone Building is somewhat unsightly, clumsy, ugly, and old. It can be renovated and then rented out again.

In any case, the market is currently in a downturn. Manulife Insurance has leased nearly 60% of the space in the building, and the annual rent is only HK$30 million. A one-year delay is not a big deal in terms of the increase in the value of the entire building.

After renovation, it was put up for rent again in 98.

Of course, we should change the name of the building—calling it Media Asia Tower would be good. We can move Media Asia Cinema there, and our own company can earn money to pay rent for our own building, instead of letting outsiders benefit.

However, if Vantone Insurance wants to continue renting, or even wants to sponsor the project for the sake of business image, then they will have to pay an additional sponsorship fee. Insurance companies often care about this; it is a symbol of their strength and a form of publicity. Therefore, if the other party wants to sponsor the project, Lin Jianlu is confident that he can earn back the money spent on renovations from their sponsorship fees within a few years!

Then, just yesterday, Lin Jianlu personally went to the relevant Hong Kong government agencies to inquire about the 50-year lease renewal of the vacant land on Man Yiu Street in the Central Harbourfront. In the afternoon, he was notified that the Hong Kong government had agreed to the lease renewal and to implement the HK$5.4 million 50-year lease renewal plan that the Hong Kong government had negotiated with Lai Sun Group in 1994. However, Lin Jianlu disagreed and wanted to negotiate the price.

As I said before, times have changed. Land and housing prices have plummeted!

Besides, the Hong Kong government is also facing difficulties right now. I'm paying you to renew my lease, but I'm planning to build a building next, which is a huge investment that could be as high as one to two or three billion Hong Kong dollars. How many jobs will that create? How much production, consumption, and transportation will it stimulate? How much added value will it generate for the future of Hong Kong? How much tax will it generate?

In this stormy season, what I'm doing is like sending charcoal in snowy weather and providing an umbrella in the rain!
And... I gave them rice dollars!

Once you get your hands on it, it becomes foreign exchange reserves! You can use it to directly compete with international speculative capital!

In short, let's talk!

If the negotiations with the Hong Kong government fail, even if Lai Sun Group is willing to sell, Lin Jianlu will not dare to accept it!

The bid for a 40% stake in Henderson Land Development's International Finance Centre, the purchase of the Manton Tower plus future compensation for breach of contract and estimated renovation costs, the acquisition of a 67.08% stake in ATV, the acquisition of the land on Man Yiu Street in the Central Harbourfront, and the application to the Hong Kong government for a 50-year lease renewal... With so many things combined, Lam Kin-lu estimates that he will spend a total of up to HK$30 billion.

Given his current extremely risky financial style, he would absolutely not be willing to not use a loan of more than HK$53 billion if he could obtain it. Therefore, he has already entrusted HSBC to quietly acquire shares of Hong Kong City Telecom. Currently, he has entrusted 2% of the total demand, which will cost about HK$8 million. At the same time, he is still looking for suitable targets to sell – preferably buildings. Commercial buildings are convenient for collecting rent and can appreciate rapidly, making them the first choice.

Although at this time, the detached mansion on the Peak, which had previously been listed for HK$2.5 million, had proactively raised its asking price to HK$1.8 million—at its peak in 93 and 94, the house was estimated to sell for HK$5 million, and after two years of declining property prices, last year the house was still priced at HK$4 million, when the owner officially listed it for sale at the end of July this year, it was only priced at HK$2.5 million.

Now, they've cut their price again, asking for only 1.8 million!

I'm really tempted!
But I'm sorry, my money needs to be used to buy a building first!

During a break from filming in the morning, Lin Jianlu wondered if she should ask Lau again at lunchtime if he had any other properties he wanted to sell.
Well, I know you're all really short on money, so I'll just be a generous benefactor this once!

If you're willing to put it up for sale, we can discuss the price!
While helping you through the difficulties, I also got to enjoy the benefits of the times – this can be considered a testament to the close ties between Hong Kong and the mainland!
***
A long chapter of 10,000 words, begging for monthly votes!
(End of this chapter)