Chapter 614
Laying the Foundation for the Collapse of the Soviet Union
This winter, the Hong Kong drama "Autumn in My Heart" sparked a wave of tears in Hong Kong, and the Hong Kong cultural model has basically taken shape—HK-TOP, Hong Kong dramas, and Hong Kong variety shows.
Last year's "Meteor Garden" has been sold to seven countries and regions, including Taiwan, South Korea, Japan, and Singapore, creating an "F4 storm" in those countries and regions, with overseas concerts, endorsements and other activities sweeping in.
Chen Mengyi visited the headquarters of Asia Satellite Television at the Times Cinema in Clearwater Bay to inspect the preparations for the Asia Satellite Television station.
At this time, "Times Cinema" had become the headquarters area of Asia Television, Times Pictures, and Asia Satellite Television, making it a veritable "entertainment city".
Fortunately, the land that Chen Guangliang bought here back then was large enough, twice the size of the 'Shaw Studios' in his previous life, covering an area of over one million square feet.
Moreover, the administrative buildings here are mostly over 17 stories high and are enormous in scale; while the video recording studios are mostly on the third or fourth floor and are also imposing.
In this way, at least in the 1990s, Times Cinema was able to support the development of 'Hong Kong pop culture'.
Of course, the next step for Chan Meng-yee is to seek to build a 'TV City' in Tseung Kwan O, which will require the support of the Hong Kong government.
"Ms. Chen, everything is going smoothly with Asia Satellite Television. We plan to conduct a trial broadcast in April, at which time our signal will be available throughout Greater China. Later, we will further expand to the entire Asia region," Chen Qingxiang, President of Asia Satellite Television, respectfully reported.
Normal satellite television broadcasts are typically aired in public places such as hotels in other regions and countries, not in private homes. At that time, many private households would use satellite receivers to secretly watch overseas television programs.
Even on the other side of the strait, where regulations were very strict, there were still countless people watching satellite TV throughout the 90s in the coastal areas, and it was impossible to stop it despite repeated bans.
Chen Mengyi said with satisfaction, "From the launch of AsiaSat 1 satellite, we were able to start the satellite TV test broadcast in just one year. Everyone has worked hard!"
Chen Qingxiang and others quickly expressed their modesty, saying, "After all, we have a solid foundation with Asia Television and started preparations in 1989, so we were quite well prepared after the launch of AsiaSat 1."
Chen Mengyi nodded; those things were indeed true.
Asia TV is crucial to the dissemination of 'Hong Kong culture'. Even her father would ask about the progress every time he saw her, so she naturally understood its importance.
Therefore, since its inception, the group's resources have been tilted towards Asia TV.
"After Asia TV launched, how exactly did you arrange the programming?" Chen Mengyi inquired carefully in the conference room.
The program is important; the key is to promote Hong Kong pop culture.
Chen Qingxiang opened the documents and gave a detailed report: "Self-produced content or content provided by ATV accounts for 70%, with 'Hong Kong cultural elements' being the top priority. 'Meteor Garden' and 'Autumn in My Heart' will be considered for broadcast every year after their official premiere. There are also Hong Kong variety shows. As for the overseas programs we purchase, they are mainly American programs. However, these programs are all expired programs from a few years ago, so the price is cheap. Although these programs are expired in the United States and the United Kingdom, they are being broadcast for the first time in Asia (even Japan does not have a satellite TV station yet), so they will definitely be very popular."
Chen Mengyi commented, "This is doing the most with the least amount of money, very good!"
The entire Asia Satellite Television network invested over a billion Hong Kong dollars, making it a massive undertaking.
After the meeting, Chen Mengyi visited the TV station's studio.
Of the 70% of Chinese-language programs on satellite TV, 40% are 'purchased' from Asia Television, but 30% still need to be self-produced, mainly news programs.
At this point, the role of Oriental Daily News became apparent, so the satellite TV strengthened its cooperation with its sister company, Oriental Daily News, to achieve the effect of rapid global news broadcasting.
Discovery Bay has now reached its sixteenth phase of development and is beginning to take shape as a large-scale community.
The only drawback is that the new airport has caused numerous problems between the Chinese and British sides, resulting in delays in its construction. As a result, Discovery Bay still lacks a cross-sea bridge and an undersea tunnel.
As a result, Discovery Bay can only be reached by ferry between Central and Kowloon.
To ensure that residents here have no worries, Hong Kong Resorts International (CK Asset Holdings) has launched a flight to London every fifteen minutes, as well as regular car ferries.
Currently, it seems that some white-collar workers from Central do choose to live here. Of course, many more foreigners prefer to live in Discovery Bay because of its excellent environment.
The Chan family villa complex in Discovery Bay remains exclusively for the Chan family to reside in, making it an area with extremely tight security.
At this time, in the eyes of Hong Kong citizens, Chen Guangliang was only associated with his first wife, Yan Renmei, but he had many children and grandchildren. His direct descendants consisted of four sons and one daughter, each of whom headed a large conglomerate. There were sixteen direct descendants: thirteen grandsons (Chen Wenming's four sons), three granddaughters, and one maternal grandson.
Among the sixteen grandchildren, many have already appeared in the media spotlight. The 33-year-old eldest grandson, Chen Zerui, serves as a director of Hutchison Whampoa, and the eldest granddaughter, Chen Siqi, frequently appears in the media as a renowned 'senior lawyer'. All of this makes one feel that the Chen family is truly prosperous and thriving.
Hong Kong has many large families, including many that have been around for centuries. However, the common pattern is that the first generation rises to prominence, the second generation prospers, the third generation declines, and the fourth generation falls into ruin.
As for the Chen family, there are still no signs of decline in the third generation.
this day.
In a study in the Chan family villa complex in Discovery Bay, Chan Kwong-leung picked up a calligraphy brush and practiced his calligraphy, which he hadn't practiced in a long time.
Chen Wenjie, Chen Wenming, Chen Wenkai, Chen Wensheng, and Chen Mengyi stood in the room, waiting for their father.
Chen Guangliang put down his calligraphy brush, took the towel handed to him by his daughter Chen Mengyi to wipe his hands, and then said, "Find a seat, I have something to tell you!"
The five of them then found seats and waited for their father to speak. They knew in their hearts that their father was brewing some new plan.
"How do you think things will develop in the US-led UN invasion of Iraq?"
Chen Wenjie spoke first: "Many regional economies are waiting for this outcome. For example, in Hong Kong, the market is taking a wait-and-see approach, as are the securities and real estate sectors. From these perspectives, a major victory for the UN forces led by the United States is the result everyone hopes to see. If the country gets bogged down in a quagmire like Vietnam or Afghanistan, the economy will likely be affected."
Energy security is involved here.
Just like the second oil crisis, the outbreak of the Iran-Iraq War, oil tankers passing through the Middle East had a chance of being hit by missiles, including the world's largest oil tankers.
Chen Wenming then said, "It shouldn't get bogged down, but Iraq, as a military power in the world, isn't so easy to defeat. It might take some time!"
Chen Guangliang smiled; this was simply everyone's true thought. "At most forty days, the war will completely cease, the UN forces will achieve a complete victory, and aside from ammunition and supplies, there won't be many other losses."
The five were surprised to hear Chen Guangliang's words.
"Iraq is really that bad?"
Chen Guangliang smiled and said, "This war will serve as a wake-up call for the whole world, showing them what modern warfare truly is. First, electronic warfare has a significant impact on the course and outcome of the war. The electromagnetic superiority of the multinational forces led by the United States will become a new high ground in the war. Second, air power has played a decisive role. The Gulf War will set a precedent for winning a war primarily through air power. The extensive use of precision-guided weapons in air strikes has improved the accuracy of air attacks while minimizing civilian casualties."
Chen Wenjie and the others were stunned, but they had no choice but to believe their father, because he had never made a wrong judgment, and moreover, he had described the war in such detail.
"The global economy will see very good development in the future, especially Hong Kong, which is poised for growth."
Chen Guangliang nodded and said, "This is the first thing you need to pay attention to. The second is the main topic today, which is that our family needs to make some moves in the Soviet market."
"The Soviet Union?"
Everyone was puzzled, because the father had never been very interested in business with this camp, partly to avoid being sanctioned by the West.
"That's right. The Soviet Union's foreign debt is already unbearable, and it should collapse by the end of this year. In recent years, in order to disintegrate the Soviet Union, the Americans first encouraged the Middle East to expand oil production, causing oil prices to depreciate. As expected, the Americans will also release a large amount of physical gold into the gold market this year, causing gold prices to drop as well. With oil and gold prices depressed, the Soviet Union will not be able to obtain foreign exchange and will have no choice but to ask the Americans for help."
"Therefore, the Soviet Union is very likely to switch sides, develop markets, and allow the ruble to be freely convertible."
The five siblings seemed to hear an even more shocking prediction than before. This was the Soviet Union, a behemoth, a superpower that could rival the United States for decades.
After calming down, everyone started discussing.
Chen Wensheng, a financial professional, spoke first: "It's not that we have absolutely no business with the Soviet Union; we can actually reach some cooperation agreements with Soviet banks."
Chen Wenkai said, "We used the knock-off Famicom 'Little Genius' to gain some market and distribution channels in the Soviet Union, in addition..."
After some discussion, Chen Guangliang summarized: "The strategy is simple—we send our third generation to hone their skills and cultivate relationships with Soviet officials and businesspeople beforehand. The next step is to borrow rubles from Soviet banks to purchase Soviet raw materials, including oil, minerals, and grain. Once the ruble is freely convertible, it will inevitably depreciate a hundredfold, becoming worthless. Furthermore, the Soviets will certainly adopt the American shock therapy, at which point they will privatize a large amount of state-owned assets. If we can acquire shares in Soviet mineral and oil assets—even a small amount—it will lay the foundation for our later resource purchases, and we will benefit immensely."
He outlined the general plan, leaving the rest to the third generation of young people to manage.
Of course, not all of the third generation participated. In the end, Chen Wenming, Chen Wenkai's second son, and Chen Wensheng's eldest son were sent to be in charge of the Soviet Union's deployment. Of course, the second generation would direct from behind the scenes.
As Chen Guangliang said, Operation Desert Storm officially began on January 17, and was codenamed Desert Sabre on February 24. On February 27, the US president announced that Kuwait had been liberated. At midnight on the 28th, the multinational forces announced a cessation of all offensive combat operations. In four days, the multinational forces destroyed about 3000 Iraqi tanks and captured more than 100,000 Iraqi soldiers.
The war came as no one expected, but it also minimized the impact on the global economy.
In fact, the Hong Kong stock market took the lead in rising as soon as troops were dispatched on January 17. During the 42 days of the war, the Ping An Index rose by nearly 20%, reaching 4500 points.
High inflation reinforced public expectations of further inflation, and the strong stock market performance in February and March triggered a wealth effect. These factors finally triggered a surge in long-accumulated purchasing power, propelling Hong Kong's property market into its second wave of growth.
In March, Hong Kong's property market saw a surge in prices, especially large, well-equipped private housing estates, which became highly sought after. These included Whampoa Garden, Taikoo Shing, Kornhill Garden, Heng Fa Chuen, Tak Fuk Garden, and Wah Shun Garden. In just one month, the prices of properties in Whampoa Garden and Taikoo Shing jumped from about HK$2700 per square foot to about HK$4000 per square foot.
Due to the active property market, many properties launched by developers in Hong Kong Island, Kowloon and the New Territories sold out instantly, and property prices soared. Even for properties that have not yet been registered and publicly offered, long queues have formed at sales offices, as people fear that the opportunity will be lost in an instant.
During this period, Cheung Kong's The Garden project sparked a new wave of property speculation.
As the last large-scale private housing estate along the MTR line, The Garden of Views was highly sought after. In late March, rumors circulated that The Garden of Views would be launched soon, and long queues immediately formed at the sales office of Cheung Kong Holdings' headquarters in the Central District. Cheung Kong Holdings posted notices repeatedly advising people to leave, but to no avail, and the police eventually had to intervene to disperse the crowd.
On March 26, Cheung Kong launched more than 750 small and medium-sized residential units in The Garden, with an average price of HK$2800 per square foot. As a result, 90% of the units were sold on the first day of sales.
At the time, speculation was rampant, and one speculator made 8 yuan in a single day by reaching a resale agreement with a user.
The situation is very good.
The 'Tranquility' superyacht in Hong Kong waters.
On the deck, Chen Guangliang looked at the day's newspaper with a slight frown.
The real estate speculation is too crazy. Originally, this was a good thing for their family, since Cheung Kong Holdings accounts for one-sixth of Hong Kong's residential supply.
However, as the saying goes, "the nail that sticks out gets hammered down," and the high housing prices will inevitably cause some resentment in society. At that time, public opinion will naturally vent its anger on Cheung Kong Holdings.
At this time, Hong Kong's property prices must be higher than those in the same period of the previous life, which is closely related to the economy.
While the Chan family was committed to developing Hong Kong through "technology" and "culture," Hong Kong property prices were also soaring. Technological and management talents, as well as comic book artists, game developers, and those working in the Hong Kong entertainment industry, were all joining the ranks of property buyers.
It seems that no matter how you develop a region's diversified economy, it will eventually turn into 'real estate (property)'.
While high property prices and rents are common in 'global cities' around the world, the situation in Hong Kong is clearly more severe.
Hong Kong people's 'speculative (gambling) spirit' is truly unique in the world.
"Later, remind Wenjie to be mindful of the impact!"
Chen Guangliang thought to himself that this was the thought.
The so-called influence means not making such a high-profile move.
Given Cheung Kong's reputation, there's no need for such a high-profile approach (it's mainly because some agents are taking the opportunity to hype it up).
On the other hand, Chen Guangliang also considered one thing: the 'Big Circle Gang' had risen to power, and inevitably some people would take risks and kidnap Chen Wenjie's children, so this also needed to be watched out for. (End of this chapter)