Chapter 577

January 13th, 10 days left until the Spring Festival.

Monday morning, past 8 o'clock,

The Hong Kong Stock Exchange trading hall was packed before the market opened, and the noise was incessant.

Old men, old women, young people... all kinds of people were there.

Soon,

The stock market opened.

"Quick, help me place an order to buy Five Star Bank stock!" A slightly chubby old man, holding a slip of paper filled with numbers, shouted to the broker beside him.

An auntie next to him curled her lips: "Still buying? The price has already hit the sky."

"What do you know? The news last Friday said Five Star Bank's deposits have exceeded 700 billion. Can the business be bad? Those banks like HSBC all have less than 300 billion. Five Star Bank will continue to rise later..." the old man responded with full confidence.

Some neighbors were hesitant: "Don't just look at the news; stocks are things that fall as soon as they are said to."

There were also neighbors full of confidence: "My neighbor works at Five Star Bank. I heard him say that people going to deposit money recently are swarming in, and the threshold is almost being trampled flat."

"HSBC's stock price has fallen miserably recently. What I bought before is almost all lost."

Just as everyone was talking,

On the big screen in the trading hall,

Five Star Bank stock continued to soar all the way.

"It's up, it's up, I've made a fortune!"

"Oh my, if I had known, I would have bought more!"

"Take the profit and be safe, the risk is still too great..."

But the stock price curves representing old-brand banks like HSBC were heading all the way down. Sighs of grief erupted from the crowd.

"It's over, it's over, all my money has gone down the drain."

"You're stupid. It's been said that Mr. Guan is shorting HSBC. Why are you still holding HSBC stock..."

In the trading hall, some were ecstatic because Five Star Bank stock soared, while others were annoyed because HSBC and other stocks fell...

And among the many stocks,

Swire Group's stock was very "low" profile...

Swire Building,

Office floors upstairs,

Today is Monday, 9 o'clock, many Swire senior executives arrived at the company one after another.

Then they held an important meeting.

The conference table was oval-shaped and polished so brightly that it could reflect people's shadows.

The new Taipan Byron sat in the main seat in a crisp suit with a serious expression, while the senior executives sat on both sides, and the atmosphere was solemn.

"Everyone,"

Byron spoke, his voice low but clear,

"Today we are going to talk about the matters of Cityplaza and Pacific Place..."

"Henry, you tell us..."

Peng Lizhi nodded: "Okay, Taipan!"

Then he coughed twice and began to introduce the situation.

"Our two most important shopping malls, Cityplaza and Pacific Place, have had their foot traffic fluctuating in the 50%-60% range since September, and the situation is quite severe."

"We have tried various promotional methods, but the effect is minimal. Low foot traffic directly leads to a sharp decline in profits. From September until now, we have already lost more than 400 million."

400 million...

Many executives had normal expressions.

Because they had always known about this situation.

Why is the loss so much?

Because there are too many employees, and the two malls are positioned as high-end malls, so the maintenance costs are very high and the expenditures are very large.

Byron knocked on the table:

"The situation is just like this..."

"Under these circumstances, we must consider selling these two malls."

What?

Sell?

As soon as these words were spoken, the conference room was suddenly in an uproar, and everyone whispered and discussed.

Peng Lizhi looked at his nose and his heart.

Actually, he understood why Byron wanted to sell Cityplaza and Pacific Place.

Byron is a newly arrived leader and naturally wants to achieve some results.

And Cityplaza and Pacific Place not only don't make money but also lose money, which will undoubtedly become a stain on his grand plans.

Therefore, he must take advantage of his recent promotion to get rid of this stain.

Hehe~~~

Just right, I can push the boat with the current!

Brother Zu promised me that as long as this business is done, 10 million Hong Kong dollars will be deposited into my account.

Financial President Mike pushed his glasses, eager to hug the new boss's thigh, and spoke first:

"I think selling might be a feasible method. If the current loss situation continues, the impact on the company's financial situation will be too great. The operating costs of these two malls are high, while the income is difficult to cover. In the long run, the company's capital chain will face huge pressure..."

Other executives spoke one after another:

"Agree... rather than keeping it, it's better to invest the money in projects with more potential."

"That's right, we have already tried many methods, and they are completely useless... It's time to give them up."

At this time,

The loyal Peng Lizhi looked hesitant: "The two malls are, after all, important assets of Swire, possessing many years of history and brand influence. To sell them just like this is really a pity."

Mike retorted directly: "Then do you have any solution?"

Peng Lizhi thought for a while and finally fell silent.

A flash of triumph crossed Mike's eyes, and his face was serious: "In the past few months, we have tried too many methods, and everyone has seen the results..."

"It's not that we don't want to save them, but saving them requires investing more money, and the effect may not necessarily return to the original level."

"We cannot increase sunk costs anymore."

Peng Lizhi said: "I understand all these, I actually support it too, I just think it's a bit of a pity."

One word from you and one word from me...

Byron looked around and said: "Now let's vote on whether to support selling the two malls, Cityplaza and Pacific Place, or not to sell and continue to maintain the status quo."

Whoever has to vote has to take the blame.

Anyway, Byron will not carry this big pot alone.

When something happens, he will have a reason—it was everyone's choice.

Soon,

The voting began.

In the end, most people tended to sell the 2 malls.

Byron nodded and said: "Since everyone's opinions are basically unified and the sale of the two malls is confirmed, the next key question is, who to sell to?"

Mike: "Now that banks are collectively having problems, the economic situation is unstable, and the funds of major enterprises are affected by this, so they are definitely not well-off and dare not easily conduct large-scale acquisitions."

"The only choice seems to be... Five Star Group."

"At present, Five Star Bank's development momentum is rapid, it has absorbed a large amount of funds, and its capital reserves are quite ample. Moreover, Five Star Group itself is strong..."

Everyone looked at each other, and for a moment, no one had any ideas.

Hearing Mike's suggestion, everyone's eyes lit up, and they began to discuss in low voices.

"This is an idea; Five Star Group does have the strength to take over."

"But... all of this of ours is caused by Five Star Group. Are we just going to sell it to that Director Director Director Guan Zu Zu like this?"

Everyone nodded.

Indeed.

What's the difference between this and NTR?

"How about this, we first let out the wind that we want to sell Swire malls and see if any boss is willing to acquire them... Hong Kong doesn't just have local tycoons, there are also Chinese tycoons from Singapore, Malaysia, and Indonesia... and the Kadoorie family... they might be interested."

Everyone thought this was a good idea.

No need to lick Five Star Group.

"Then that's it..."

Byron said: "However, before taking action, we must first report the meeting results and preliminary plans to Swire headquarters. After all, involving such a major asset transaction, the headquarters' opinion is crucial."

"Mike, start organizing a detailed report, write down the loss situation of the two malls, our analysis process, the voting results, and response methods clearly... try to send it to headquarters before getting off work today."

"Today's meeting ends here, dismissed."

"Yes! Taipan!"*n

Everyone stood up one after another and walked out of the conference room one by one.

One hour later,

On the side of Five Star Group building,

Director Director Director Guan Zu Zu received the news from Peng Lizhi.

"Finally going to sell Cityplaza and Pacific Place?"

"And don't want to sell to me?"

Director Director Director Guan Zu Zu chuckled.

Although he hates Swire Group, he still likes these two Swire malls very much.

Being able to buy them back at a low price, why not do it.

Soon,

The news spread in the tycoon circle.

"What?"

"Swire Group is preparing to sell Pacific Place and Cityplaza in a package?"

Boss Zheng, Boss Li, Boss Li Ji, Boss Wu (Boss Bao's son-in-law)... and other Chinese tycoons were all a bit tempted.

However, after thinking about it carefully, they felt the risk was a bit high.

If foot traffic cannot be restored, acquiring them is also a loss.

And do they have the confidence to restore foot traffic?

No confidence.

If anyone has confidence, I'm afraid it's only Five Star Group.

And there is another point, the decline of these two malls is the result of Swire vs Five Star. If they take over without Five Star Group's consent, will they be targeted by that King of Hell, Director Director Director Guan Zu Zu?

Regarding this, they were always a bit guilty.

And at this time,

Capital of Indonesia,

The luxurious manor of the richest Chinese man, Boss Lin.

"Brother Huang!"

"Brother Lin!"

The two richest Chinese men in Indonesia, Boss Lin Shao-liang (77 years old) and the second richest, Boss Huang Zhi-cong (72 years old), met together today.

The two have a deep personal friendship.

In the manor,

The two were walking in the garden, talking about things in Hong Kong while walking.

"Brother Huang, you should know about the things in Hong Kong, right?"

"I don't know which matter Brother Lin is talking about?"

"Five Star Bank, and Swire Group wanting to sell two malls, two things..."

"Naturally I heard about it, I don't know what Brother Lin wants?"

"Naturally to go to Hong Kong... You also know this place, Indonesia, has always been very exclusive to us Chinese... We focus our center of gravity in Indonesia, and one day we will be bitten back... So, I have always firmly believed that we must go out."

Boss Lin said with a firm gaze.

He is the richest Chinese man in Indonesia and the richest man in Asia before Boss Li.

Ancestral home in Fujian, he went to Nanyang alone at the age of 20. After Indonesia's independence, Lin Shao-liang showed his skills in many industries, established a huge "Lin Kingdom," and was hailed as the "Rockefeller of Asia." He has titles such as "Clove King," "Flour King," "Financial King," and "Real Estate King" in Indonesia, and was once rated as one of the "World's Top Ten Richest People."

He was quite miserable. During the 1997 financial crisis, his Central Asia Bank was run on and finally nationalized by Indonesia. Then in the 1998 riots, rioters rushed into his villa, and he fled to Singapore in a panic. It can be said that he was very miserable.

Indonesia's environment is very unfriendly to Chinese, almost reaching the point of hatred.

Their hatred has almost become a habit. As long as external inducing factors appear, riots will occur.

And Chinese have another characteristic: low political participation, similar to Chinese in the United States. This leads to the fact that once social problems arise, they are easily taken out as scapegoats...

Boss Huang nodded: "I also have this idea."

Boss Huang is the second richest Chinese man in Indonesia. He went to Indonesia with his elders to make a living at the age of 7 and started the Sinar Mas Group from reselling copra. He is hailed as the "Copra King," "Edible Oil King," and "Paper Industry King."

He also had an Indonesia International Bank with hundreds of branches, and then it was finished during the 1997 crisis year.

Boss Lin: "So, shall we go to Hong Kong together?"

Boss Huang: "I don't know what Brother Lin's idea is?"

Boss Lin: "Both of us have companies in Hong Kong... but... Brother Huang should be clear about the specific situation. Small fights, not on the table. Everything is because we are outsiders."

"So, I think we need to find someone with local influence to cooperate together."

Boss Huang: "Brother Lin means? Five Star Group?"

Boss Lin nodded: "That's right, it is Five Star Group."

Boss Lin and Boss Huang both have companies in Hong Kong.

Boss Lin has: Central Asia Finance Company, First Pacific Finance Company, First Pacific Land Co., Ltd.

Boss Huang has: China Strategic Group, mainly engaged in securities investment, trade, and money lending business.

Of course, the strength is just so-so.

Then...

During this period, Five Star Bank has been stirring up trouble in Hong Kong, and both companies have suffered losses.

However, Boss Lin and Boss Huang were not angry, but for the first time, across thousands of kilometers, through reports from Hong Kong, they discovered the strength of Five Star Group.

What is even more rare is... Five Star Group has a good reputation.

What are they most afraid of when going "abroad" to invest?

Afraid of being pitted by locals.

Five Star Group is strong and has a good reputation. Isn't this the most suitable partner?

Thus,

Boss Lin had an idea and invited Boss Huang to talk about investing in Hong Kong.

The two talked for a long time and finally determined the goal.

"This time Swire Group selling two malls is a good opportunity for cooperation."

"We can pay more, ask for fewer shares, and gain the friendship of Five Star Group."

"I agree!"

The next day,

Morning.

Lin's Young Master and Huang's Young Master followed their respective fathers' instructions, made phone calls to invite, and prepared to visit Director Director Director Guan Zu Zu.

Wu Lianqian received the invitation and reported to Director Director Director Guan Zu Zu.

"The two big tycoons of Indonesia?"

"Boss Lin?"

"Boss Huang?"

Director Director Director Guan Zu Zu roughly remembered their deeds; they could be considered the Chinese tycoons who bore the brunt of that big riot in Indonesia.

And the two bosses also donated a lot in the mainland, hospitals, schools, infrastructure... they are bosses with a good reputation.

Among them, Boss Huang donated 150 million yuan to his hometown and donated a total of over 1.4 billion yuan to charity and public welfare in China. He established "Huang Scholarships" in many universities such as Beijing Forestry University and Huazhong Agricultural University.

"What are they coming for?"

"Is this paying respects to the pier?"

Director Director Director Guan Zu Zu couldn't help but think of the two bosses' backgrounds—the richest and second richest in Indonesia.

The corners of his mouth gradually hooked up.

"Perhaps..."

"This is an opportunity for me to intervene in Indonesia!"

Director Director Director Guan Zu Zu had long wanted to intervene in Indonesia, but had never found a breakthrough.

Now the opportunity has come, so naturally, he must push the boat with the current and seize it.

(End of chapter)