Chapter 366

Now that New World + Chow Tai Fook are facing a massive funding gap and a high debt ratio, once exposed, the stock will easily collapse.

During this period, Boss Zheng has been selling off assets just to plug the hole. The money from the last short-selling was all used to fill it.

Unexpectedly, someone still found out.

"Short-selling? Who?"

Mrs. Zheng's expression also changed; she is no naive socialite. If someone dares to short-sell, they must have discovered the problems within the Zheng family and have the confidence to stir up trouble.

Boss Zheng shook his head: "I'm not sure, the bank didn't say."

In matters of information leakage, banks and securities firms bear certain risks. They might be sued by the other party (Boss Li) on the grounds of violating confidentiality obligations, and the bank might need to bear corresponding legal liabilities, compensating Boss Li for losses suffered due to the information leak, etc.

Mrs. Zheng: "What problems has our company encountered now?"

Boss Zheng: "There's a huge problem with the capital chain..."

He told his wife about how their eldest son had been striking out everywhere and acquiring a large amount of assets.

Mrs. Zheng was rendered speechless.

Is the eldest son really this incompetent?

Boss Zheng sighed: "It's because of that time in the seventies, I was too conservative, which led Ah Chun to think I was too conservative!"

The father's prestige is insufficient,

The son is full of arrogant confidence and simply won't listen to his father.

Mrs. Zheng was furious upon hearing this: "This good-for-nothing, I haven't disciplined him for a while, I didn't expect him to turn out like this!"

Just then, the second young master Zheng returned home, drunk.

Boss Zheng took one look and was instantly infuriated.

Why are Boss Li's two sons so sensible, worry-free, and capable?

While his own two sons are just two pigs.

Not to mention the eldest son,

If this second son were just worry-free—he clearly has a very good girlfriend, Kuang Meiyun, the 1982 Miss Hong Kong runner-up, now 29 years old, talented and beautiful. Boss Zheng was very satisfied with this "future daughter-in-law." When Boss Zheng was critically ill, Kuang Meiyun even specifically prayed for Zheng Yutong's well-being.

And the result?

This son of his is a philanderer, running off to like Lan Jieying, directly leading to a love triangle that shocked all of Hong Kong.

He contributed quite a lot of KPI to Hong Kong's entertainment industry.

Seeing his old man's dark face, the second young master Zheng was so scared he sobered up.

"Cough, cough~~~ Dad!"

"Who were you out fooling around with again today?!"

"Uh... I went drinking with a few friends."

"Get out!"

Second young master Zheng: "???"

Not daring to say more, he slunk upstairs.

Boss Zheng sat down angrily, thought for a moment, and made a call to the editor-in-chief of the Sing Tao Daily.

A minute later, Boss Zheng hung up the phone.

Mrs. Zheng: "How was it?"

Boss Zheng's expression was gloomy: "Sing Tao Daily said Boss Li gave them money to report on the debt problems of our New World Group."

"So, it is Boss Li who is short-selling us."

He felt it was very tricky.

Once the negative news comes out, Boss Zheng will face a huge risk of capital chain rupture.

First, there is the risk of debt collection: banks and other financial institutions may reassess loan risks and demand that the company repay part or all of the loans early. Suppliers will also worry about payment recovery, potentially shortening credit terms or demanding cash transactions, or even suspending supply.

Secondly, unable to get loans, institutions and individuals originally interested in investing or providing financing may be deterred, making it harder for the company to obtain funds through equity financing, bond issuance, etc.

Third, accounts receivable will be even harder to recover, and orders will decrease...

Finally...

The capital chain breaks!

The entire group enters a vicious cycle!

"The tides of fortune turn~~~"

A while ago, he, Guan Zu, and Boss Lin had shorted Boss Li twice in a row, and the three of them earned nearly 4 billion in total.

This time, it was Boss Li's turn to strike back.

Boss Zheng called his secretary, asking the secretary to go to major newspapers to inquire about the situation.

20 minutes later, the secretary reported that major newspapers had all taken Boss Li's money and were going to report on Boss Zheng's company.

Even if Boss Zheng wanted to bribe them, it was too late; Boss Li had already paid, so it was impossible for him to pay now.

"Dad~~~"

Just then, the other KPI provider for Hong Kong gossip news—the eldest young master Zheng—also returned.

Also drunk.

The more Boss Zheng looked at him, the angrier he got: "You rebellious son, get over here!"

The eldest young master Zheng was much more confident and bold than the second young master, completely unafraid: "Dad, what's the matter?"

Boss Zheng shouted angrily: "You still have the nerve to speak, do you know our company is in big trouble now?"

The eldest young master Zheng was stunned: "Trouble? What trouble?"

Boss Zheng was frustrated: "Boss Li is short-selling our company, he has already bought off the major newspapers, and tomorrow they will report on our company's tight capital... do you understand what consequences this will have?"

The eldest young master Zheng: "............"

Boss Zheng: "At tomorrow's meeting, I am going to remove you from your position as chairman of the board!"

Tomorrow, the capital issue is the focus of the report, and the eldest young master Zheng's unreliability is another focus.

At this time, one must cut the Gordian knot.

The eldest young master Zheng: "............"

Wait, I'm just finished like this?

My grand plan!

My booming ambition!

After dismissing the eldest young master Zheng, Boss Zheng couldn't help but think about who he could borrow money from.

The business world is like a battlefield; in such matters, he has almost no friends he can trust. He and Boss Li are also friends, but in business, when it's time to stab someone in the back, there is no mercy.

Banks?

In this situation, it would be a miracle if banks were willing to lend money!

Suddenly, he thought of Guan Zu.

If he remembered correctly, Guan Zu took 10% of Hysan Development to borrow three or four billion, although he paid back 1 billion and 300 million to himself and Boss Lin.

"But... is Guan Zu reliable?"

Boss Zheng hesitated.

"Will he take advantage of the fire to rob me?"

"Seize the equity of my New World Development?"

After all, business friends sometimes quickly turn into enemies.

While hesitating, he thought about Guan Zu's various actions.

Huh~~~~

If Guan Zu is still not reliable?

Then in the whole world, are there any reliable people left?

No!

Guan Zu is definitely the kind of person who can let you safely entrust your back to him!

Thinking of Guan Zu, a bunch of positive energy words appeared in Boss Zheng's mind:

Sunny! Kind! Tolerant! Reliable! Credible!......

Too many, too many!

He can completely trust Guan Zu!

Then...

An hour later,

Causeway Bay, fresh pork offal porridge late-night stall.

Boss Zheng brought four or five bodyguards to Causeway Bay and arrived at the address Guan Zu gave.

Then he saw Guan Zu running to queue up to get fresh pork.

"Boss Zheng, here, what do you want to eat?!"

"Do you want pork..."

Guan Zu waved at Boss Zheng.

Boss Zheng: "............"

Silence is the Cambridge of tonight.

If he dared to say 'yes', it would probably spread all over Hong Kong tomorrow: "Tell you a piece of explosive news! Boss Zheng likes to eat pork!"

Soon, Boss Zheng followed Guan Zu to squeeze into the queue and pick pork.

Many neighbors saw this and were surprised.

"My god, isn't this Boss Zheng?"

"Boss Zheng also likes late-night snacks?"

Soon, Guan Zu and Boss Zheng picked the pork and returned to the table.

Guan Zu: "I originally wanted to choose seafood porridge, but thinking of you old folks, everyone is prone to gout, so forget it."

Boss Zheng: "............"

It felt too grounded; how long had it been since he had such a touch of life?

Thinking of when he was young, fleeing to his father-in-law's house in Macau, he also secretly took his wife, who wasn't married yet, to eat late-night snacks.

After eating a bowl of porridge,

Boss Zheng began to talk about business, telling Guan Zu about the situation he was currently facing.

Guan Zu nodded: "How do you want to solve it?"

Boss Zheng: "I know you want ATV shares, I will sell all 46% of the equity in my hands to you... if it were others, I would sell it for 600 million, but you are different, I can sell it to you for 500 million..."

Guan Zu: "Good!"

This price is considered a friendship price.

As long as the ATV shares are credited, he will be the largest shareholder.

Boss Zheng: "In addition, I want to borrow 4 billion from you, you can take assets as collateral. Chow Tai Fook, or New World shares, or some land, buildings... all are fine, with a three-year term."

He couldn't care about short-selling or anything.

The only thing he could do was borrow money to deal with bank loan withdrawals and supplier debt collection.

As long as he gives banks and suppliers enough confidence, he can stabilize investor confidence and stabilize shareholder confidence. It doesn't matter if the stock price falls; he can take the opportunity to buy back the stock.

Guan Zu smiled: "Borrowing money is no problem, I don't have that much on hand for now, but I can promise that within 1 month, 4 billion will be in your account."

Guan Zu: "In addition, I want one more thing!"

Boss Zheng: "What thing?"

Guan Zu: "Your New World Group is currently unable to protect itself, so the Changjiang Group shares in your hands have become less important, so you might as well sell them to me."

The shares of the three people are all controlled below 5%, Boss Lin is 3.1%, and Boss Zheng is 4.8%.

Boss Zheng: "Good."

That's right, the Changjiang Group shares are now just chicken ribs to him.

Guan Zu raised his glass: "Then happy cooperation."

Boss Zheng: "Happy cooperation."

After reaching an agreement with Guan Zu, he finally breathed a sigh of relief in his heart, feeling a bit more secure.

This novel is for you to

Guan Zu didn't say any polite words; just sitting in front of him and becoming his ally gave him a reliable sense of security.

This, perhaps, is Guan Zu's personal charm.

Now that the two had reached an agreement, they didn't delay and immediately started looking for people and lawyers to draft the contract.

Subsequently, he made a call to Boss Lin.

After hearing this, Boss Lin was on the verge of tears.

How did I end up becoming the second largest shareholder for no reason?

It's over, ATV has changed hands!

But he couldn't say that they couldn't trade; saying so would hurt feelings. After all, Guan Zu had led him to earn quite a lot of money.

Forget it, forget it, perhaps with Guan Zu around, with his many wild moves, ATV might be able to defeat TVB in the future.

Thinking about it this way.

Hey~~~

Much more comfortable!

With both Guan Zu and Boss Zheng in harmony, the contract was quickly finalized.

2 hours later, both sides signed!

Guan Zu acquired 46% of ATV shares, with a total of 54%, officially becoming the largest shareholder of ATV.

At the same time, he acquired 4.9% of Changjiang Group shares from Boss Zheng, plus the 4.5% in Guan Zu's hands, totaling 9.4% of shares.

A new day,

November in Hong Kong,

Today Hong Kong welcomed cold air from the grasslands, becoming chilly, with fog filling the whole of Hong Kong.

As the atmosphere of life gradually flourished, the whole of Hong Kong revived.

At the newsstand, copies of newspapers were laid out.

"New World Group's debt ratio reaches 72%! Eldest young master Zheng's aggressive acquisition triggers New World crisis!"

"New World's expansion path: The hidden worry of high debt behind the 14 billion acquisition"

"Is eldest young master Zheng a 'Shark-Bold Chun' or a 'Reckless Chun'?"

"............"

There were also some newspapers whose headlines were other news.

"ATV changes hands, Guan Zu successfully owns 54% of ATV shares!"

"ATV changes sky......"

Wherever Guan Zu goes, he is the person Hong Kong citizens pay most attention to, causing most citizens to subconsciously ignore Boss Zheng's news reports.

In front of the newsstand, after citizens glanced at it,

"What, ATV changed hands?"

"Mr. Guan became the major shareholder?"

"Haha~~ Now ATV and TVB have something to fight about, Mr. Guan is still very good at stirring up trouble."

Many citizens became interested, even attracting other citizens who didn't usually buy newspapers.

"Boss, give me a copy of Mr. Guan's newspaper!"

"Okay!"

"Give me one too......"

"I want one too......"

Most citizens wanted newspapers with Guan Zu's report.

As for the news about Boss Zheng and the New World crisis, unless they were shareholders who bought New World stock, they basically felt that Boss Zheng was too far away from them, and their interest wasn't particularly high.

This led to newspapers with Guan Zu as the headline selling particularly fast.

While newspapers about Boss Zheng and the New World crisis sold slowly instead.

Thus,

Guan Zu successfully stole the spotlight!

Li family villa.

ATV morning news, reporting ing,

"Starting today, Boss Zheng will officially withdraw from the ATV board of directors, and at the same time, all shares will be transferred to Mr. Guan Zu......"

"This means Mr. Guan officially owns 54% of Asia Television shares, becoming the largest shareholder of ATV."

Boss Li watched the TV and couldn't help but frown.

"Why did Boss Zheng suddenly sell the shares?"

"And it's Guan Zu......"

"Will the two have new cooperation?"

However, he was still full of confidence.

Because banks and various financial institutions will see the news he released, they will definitely question and investigate Boss Zheng, and once they discover the situation, they will inevitably chase after loans, reduce new loans......

And selling off the New World stock held in hand is even more of a routine operation!

As Boss Li thought,

The reactions of various banks were extremely rapid.

HSBC, inside the headquarters building.

After seeing the news, the HSBC bigwig frowned, called the secretary, and instructed: "Arrange manpower, immediately pull out all loan data of New World Group, from loan amount, term, collateral assets to repayment records, don't miss a single detail. We need to reassess its risk level and judge whether it is necessary to add collateral or collect early."

On the other side, Standard Chartered Bank also did similar actions.

Moreover, Standard Chartered Bank happened to have a loan ready to be lent to New World Group.

When the loan manager saw the news, he directly called New World Group: "Given the current situation, we can only temporarily shelve the new loan project. We must first conduct an in-depth investigation into your group's capital chain status, I hope you can understand."

Other banks also acted one after another.

And in the financial market, after investors of New World Group saw the news report, panic spread rapidly.

Inside the stock exchange, New World Group's stock price, after the opening, began to plummet like a kite with a broken string......

Many shareholders realized something was wrong,

"Quick, help me sell New World stock, this momentum is too wrong!"

"Why did this stock price fall so severely?"

"What? Capital risk?"

"Eldest young master Zheng took more than 10 billion in funds out?"

"My god~~~"

Many shareholders were scared and hurriedly sold their stocks.

Inside New World Group,

Top floor conference room,

A high-level meeting is being held urgently.

Boss Zheng, eldest young master Zheng, leaders of various departments...... all present.

The atmosphere is relatively heavy.

The leaders of each department seem a bit pessimistic.

If the capital chain breaks, the company's financial hole will become a bottomless pit, very difficult to fill.

Boss Zheng didn't wait for others to speak, and got straight to the point, giving everyone a reassurance.

"I believe everyone has seen the news, currently the group's capital situation is very tight, our short-term debt is about to expire, and the available cash is not much, banks are constantly calling, continuing to chase debt, we may face the risk of capital chain rupture......"

"But!"

"Everyone can rest assured, I have already borrowed 4 billion from Mr. Guan"

"And currently, 1.2 billion has been credited."

"The remaining 2.8 billion will be credited one after another within a month......"

Just as Boss Zheng finished speaking, several department leaders couldn't help but raise their heads slightly, with surprise and hope on their faces.

"4 billion?"

"Great, with this money, our pressure will be much less!"

"Yes, we can first pay a part of the bank loan interest that is about to expire, and some payments to key suppliers, temporarily stabilizing them."

One by one, they regained confidence.

After all, no one wants this group to collapse.

They are all vested interests; if it collapses, they will also lose a lot.

After confidence was restored,

Boss Zheng was serious: "In this crisis, Ah Chun's aggressive investment strategy is to blame. After careful consideration, we have decided to remove him from his position in the group, and I will resume as chairman of the board, taking over New World Group."

Eldest young master Zheng's face turned pale instantly.

And many executives were overjoyed.

Great!

Boss Zheng is back, they have confidence!

Boss Zheng took bold measures: "Public Relations Department, you immediately prepare for a press conference, I will personally explain the situation to the public at the press conference, and at the same time call the senior management of various banks to communicate, we must give the market enough confidence."

On ATV's side,

Chairman's office.

Guan Zu was having a one-hour discussion with Boss Lin.

And in the president's office,

President Liang Shuyi's face was very ugly.

The sky, it seems, is about to collapse!

(End of chapter)