Chapter 611
Oil Price Surge
On August 8, Middle Eastern crude oil briefly surged to $30 per barrel.
"No rush, the price is unstable. We have plenty of time to hold our positions!"
Chen Guangliang issued orders to his brothers Chen Wenjie, Chen Wenming, and Chen Wensheng from the "Tranquility" superyacht.
It turns out that oil prices started to rise sharply in late July, and then skyrocketed after August 2nd.
During this period, oil prices often rose by $2 to $3 per barrel in a single day due to any action by the United States or Iraq that could escalate tensions.
Logically speaking, with oil prices soaring to $30 per barrel today, the Chen family's holdings in the spot market have already doubled, amounting to over $15 billion.
However, Chen Guangliang remained unhurried and made arrangements, observing the situation for the time being and waiting for the market to stabilize somewhat.
In Chen Guangliang's view, the price increase was too rapid, which was not conducive to selling off his holdings, and countries were not necessarily in a hurry to buy oil. The best time to sell would be if this panic lasted for twenty days or a month.
After all, the world is losing oil from two countries, and the daily consumption of oil is enormous. The most severe oil shortage will occur in twenty days.
Of course, it can't be too late either; the shipments must be completed before mid-October, because the United States and other countries will push for 'strategic oil' supplies, and there are issues with Saudi Arabia, the UAE, and others frantically expanding production.
After hanging up the phone, Chen Guangliang put his arms around Guan Jiahui and Li Jiaxin beside him and said with a smile, "The show has already begun. I see that you two are not really paying attention to me. What are you thinking about?"
Li Jiaxin said sweetly, "It's about the stock market. We started shorting the August and September flat index in mid-July. The flat index plummeted by 7% in one day the day before yesterday. Can we double our money on the August contract?"
The highest point in late July was 4300, and now it's at 3750, a drop of just over 10%.
Moreover, they didn't all start shorting at 4300 points, but at 4100 points; and now Ping An Index futures are generally leveraged by seven times, so whether they can double their money is still unknown.
Of course, Chen Guangliang wouldn't spoil the fun, saying, "If you can, then just wait to lose money!"
Li Jiaxin was overjoyed. This time, their securities had retreated by 20-30%, and they were also trading stock index futures. Making tens of millions was not a problem.
At this moment, Guan Jiahui asked curiously, "Mr. Chen, you're either on a yacht or in a villa every day, how do you know about global political trends and economic situations?"
Chen Guangliang laughed and said, "Do you really think I play around all day? I have a team of hundreds of advisors. I can't possibly know the latest news from around the world. Besides, the most important thing is to rely on your brain. I heard that Jiaxin ripped you off?"
He was referring to Li Jiaxin's investment in IT, which was not his idea, nor would he voluntarily allow a woman to share another woman's business.
Guan Jiahui said coquettishly, "I thought you meant that, but you've been fooled by this woman!"
Li Jiaxin immediately said, "I didn't mean that, don't try to frame me."
"Fine, now you're turning your back on me."
Seeing the two women about to fight, Chen Guangliang stood up and went for a stroll elsewhere. Guan Jiahui and Li Jiaxin quickly followed, no longer caring about their bickering.
And it's obvious that the two of them will be fighting together again tonight, so they can't afford to make things awkward.
Oil influences the global economy.
The third oil crisis struck with great force, causing the Hong Kong stock market to fluctuate downwards, while Japan was naturally one of the hardest-hit areas.
The index initially fell from 39000 points to 28000 points, but then rebounded to over 3200 points. However, in August, the Nikkei index continued its sharp decline, this time seemingly even more severe.
For the Ping An Index futures, Chen Guangliang instructed Guan Jiahui and Li Jiaxin to short sell (the action was not significant); for the Nikkei Index futures, short selling was done by Li Zhi and Zhang Min in the Singapore market, and by his daughter Chen Daiyi in the Tokyo market.
Wealth is flowing in.
night.
Guan Jiahui changed into a pink suspender dress and wore black stockings, looking both innocent and charming; Li Jiaxin wore a black suspender dress and black stockings, appearing both aloof and noble.
Two women, one on each side, accompanied Chen Guangliang as he enjoyed dinner, while a young maid served him.
Eighty-year-old Chen Guangliang still has a good appetite, but he now mainly eats beef, with seafood consumed in small amounts. In addition, ginseng soup from Changbai Mountain is a must-have.
After all, although he has a good physique, Chen Guangliang is a wealthy man who indulges himself, so dietary supplements are a must for him every day.
The highly nourishing substance entered his body, and under the metabolism of his super genes, it provided a large amount of energy and essence. For an ordinary person, there would be no such purification and effect.
However, Chen Guangliang is pursuing 'nature' rather than 'technology'.
Even though he hopes to live to 115 and still be able to move around when he is 100, he will never accept transplanting other people's organs and blood; natural aging is his pursuit.
Physiologically, he has been restraining himself. For example, his interactions with Guan Jiahui and Li Jiaxin might only happen once every three days, and although each interaction might last for more than an hour, he only loses his vital energy once.
"Hehe, another tonic? Do you want to take some medicine later?" Li Jiaxin deliberately provoked Chen Guangliang.
“You brat, when have I ever used any drugs? If you find out even once, I’ll reward you with 1000 million.”
"I don't believe you! You won't know how to use it later!"
Chen Guangliang said, "Absolutely impossible. If I get old, then I'm old. I won't overwork myself. You don't think that after you turn thirty, I won't be able to keep you entertained anymore, do you?"
Li Jiaxin seemed to see herself ten years later, and immediately retorted, "You think all women want this? You can decide whether you want it or not when the time comes!"
Good guy.
Chen Guangliang showed his arms and said, "Tonight, I'll try beggar's rice and show you that even men in their twenties or thirties are no match for me."
"A beggar cooking rice? Maybe you shouldn't even try!" Guan Jiahui knew this all too well, knowing that it required a lot of arm strength.
"I'll try," Li Jiaxin said nonchalantly, "I trust my man."
Good heavens, he's just a beggar cooking rice; he can do that in ten years.
International crude oil prices dipped slightly in mid-August, but quickly climbed back above $28 in late August.
The lack of oil exports from Iraq and Kuwait for nearly 20 days has caused tension among oil-consuming countries.
"Mr. Chen, we heard that Global Group has oil tankers storing oil in the port. We in Japan hope to cooperate with you, after all, we have been old friends for many years!" The representative from the Mitsubishi Group of Japan met with Chen Wenming as soon as he arrived in the port.
Chen Wenming met with representatives from Mitsubishi at the golf course in Clearwater Bay. They played golf and discussed business together.
"No problem, we do have crude oil and are ready to sell it."
Mitsubishi's representative, Kazuki, immediately said, "We need four VCLL oil tankers, totaling over 100 million tons. As for the price, we hope to settle at the current rate, and we expect the oil to arrive at Japanese ports within ten days."
This is undoubtedly a demand to 'take the initiative', and given the current market conditions, there is a high probability that oil prices will continue to rise.
However, Chen Wenming hesitated only slightly before saying, "This batch of oil will arrive at the port in Japan in five days, and some parts can arrive in as little as three days. As for the price, it's $28.5 today. If you sign the contract with me at noon, it will be at today's price."
"I can sign now."
"No rush. Don't worry, even if the price goes up this afternoon, I'll stick to this price. After all, Global Industry and Japan have been cooperating for over forty years."
"Okay, we're friends!"
One million tons of oil is only equivalent to a mere 7 million barrels.
Chen Wenming believes that there is still greater demand in Japan. They have prepared 40 million barrels, representing 4000% of their reserves, for this trip to Asian ports. Japan will be the largest consumer of this demand.
Huge profits came rolling in.
My father said it could be sold for $25, but the price rose too fast. Before we could sell it for $25, it had already risen to $28 per barrel. And given the current situation, it seems unlikely that the price will fall below that level in the next month.
Of course, my father also instructed that it would be best to sell out by the end of September, and at the latest by mid-October.
This summer, "Meteor Garden" officially premiered on ATV, immediately attracting a large following among young people in Hong Kong and firmly holding the top spot in ratings. It also marked the birth of a true "Hong Kong Wave drama," and ATV has already assembled a dedicated team to research and write scripts for such dramas.
At this time, seven years had passed since the emergence of 'Hong Kong pop culture' and more than three years since its birth. HK-TOP had already put pressure on traditional music, and Times Entertainment had already debuted seven 'idol groups,' all of which had achieved success.
Meanwhile, the Hong Kong-style program "Who Wants to Be a Millionaire" has sold its rights to four countries (the United States, Taiwan, Singapore, and the United Kingdom), with a total value of US$4000 million; the second season of "The Voice of Hong Kong" was even more popular, attracting the attention of Chinese people all over the world, and even coastal areas knew about the program.
Suddenly, everyone knew that ATV was undergoing a massive 'cultural revolution,' and this revolution was the key to surpassing TVB. The previous spending sprees to poach talent were just an appetizer.
As the chairperson and president of the media group, Chen Mengyi truly deserves the title of "Media Queen".
at the same time.
Asia Satellite Television (AsiaTV), a joint venture between Hutchison Whampoa and Asia Television, has been established. AsiaTV has leased 12 C-band transponders from AsiaSat 1, which was successfully launched in April of this year. Asia Television will be responsible for the program content, and it is expected to officially start broadcasting in 1991.
At that time, it will be easier for 'Hong Kong culture' to go overseas and export its culture.
Clearwater Bay, Administration Building.
The media group held a high-level meeting, bringing together core executives from four companies: Asia Television, Asia Satellite Television, Asia Entertainment, and Times Pictures.
As for Oriental Daily News, although it also belongs to the media group, Chen Mengyi rarely manages it, making it a print media outlet independent of the other four groups. This is also a decision made by the Chen family to practice 'freedom of the press', meaning that even if Oriental Daily News publishes gossip about Chen Guangliang, as long as it is not excessive, it will not be restricted.
Of course, even the most foolish reporter from the Oriental Daily News wouldn't offend their employer.
In the conference room, Zhou Liangshuyi of Asia Television, Zou Wenhuai of Times Pictures, Chen Qingxiang of Asia Satellite Television, Liang Zhenxin of Times Entertainment, and 12 other senior executives from the four major businesses were all present.
Shortly after, Chen Mengyi, only 38 years old, walked into the conference room, exuding an innate air of nobility.
"Ladies and gentlemen, the reason for inviting you all here today is to discuss and plan the grand strategy of 'Prospering Hong Kong through Hong Kong Culture,' which is closely related to the future and destiny of our four companies."
Everyone was surprised; it seemed rather arrogant for a 38-year-old woman to speak like that.
"Hong Kong culture revitalizes Hong Kong," and "Hong Kong culture" is what this young boss has been doing for the past six or seven years, and it has indeed achieved great success.
However, the colloquialism "Xinggang" sounds more like what his older brothers say.
However, everyone quickly dismissed such thoughts, after all, Chen Mengyi's achievements were obvious to all, and let's look at the next topic.
Chen Mengyi continued, "The so-called 'Hong Kong Wave Culture' is a brand new entertainment culture that is distinct from the previous Hong Kong entertainment industry. Of course, the previous Hong Kong entertainment industry was an important foundation, but 'Hong Kong Wave Culture' is a new innovation. Specifically, it consists of three parts: Hong Kong Wave dramas and programs, and Hong Kong Wave music (HK-TOP)."
"Among them, Hong Kong dramas, like this summer's 'Meteor Garden,' and programs, are new variety shows like 'Who Wants to Be a Millionaire,' 'The Voice of Hong Kong,' and 'Music Bank.' HK-TOP is a brand-new music trainee model that allows us to mass-produce idols, and the music itself has also changed, with a fusion of singing and dancing, rap, electronic music, and other elements."
After a speech.
Asia Television's Chan Hing-cheung raised a question: "Ms. Chan, this entirely new cultural model is like a high-stakes gamble. Hong Kong has a highly developed entertainment culture, and whether the new culture can replace the old one is full of uncertainty!"
He was a veteran of Hong Kong television and was recruited to serve as the CEO of Asia Satellite Television. His initial idea was to purchase program copyrights from Europe and the United States and import them from Asia Satellite Television, with a 50/50 split.
However, his suggestion was quickly rejected. Chen Mengyi demanded that Asia Satellite Television focus on 'Asia Television' programs, and purchase a small number of television rights from Europe and the United States, and only those 'expired European and American programs (cheap)'.
The latter is understandable, as it saves costs; however, the former's large proportion of self-produced programs raises questions about whether other Asian countries can accept it, given that people are more interested in American culture.
Chen Mengyi confidently stated, "Hong Kong pop culture is a major decision; it's not a business, but the future of Hong Kong. Hong Kong pop culture has already begun to take shape as a 'system,' with the goal of 'gaining more fans.' Once the overseas expansion of Hong Kong pop culture is completed, people in Asia, and even the whole world, will be very familiar with Hong Kong. They will come to Hong Kong for tourism and to follow celebrities. The economic impact they generate will be no less than that of Hong Kong's real estate, finance, trade, industry, and technology. Therefore, it is not a business."
This not only shocked everyone, but also piqued their interest.
Immediately afterwards, Chen Mengyi formulated various tasks.
Of course, Times Pictures doesn't have any outstanding plans. After all, "Chow Yun-fat, Stephen Chow and Jackie Chan" were all discovered and long-term partners of Times Pictures, so the Hong Kong film industry is still dominated by Times Pictures.
Including Raymond Chow and others in the program is naturally to strengthen internal cooperation, such as giving priority to actors from the group.
After the meeting, Zhou Liang Shuyi had a private meeting with Chen Mengyi and obtained the script outline for the Hong Kong drama "Autumn in My Heart".
"This, like 'Meteor Garden,' has become a representative work and model of Hong Kong dramas. Of course, the development of Hong Kong dramas still requires systematic development, such as vigorously cultivating screenwriters and increasing their voice."
Zhou Liang Shuyi said earnestly, "Okay, I will definitely take Hong Kong pop culture seriously." (End of this chapter)