Chapter 856
Strategic Acquisition
Jakarta.
In the upscale Menten district, in front of a white mansion, Sin Yuk-Chun is having a conversation with a security guard.
"Chinese? English?"
Security guard: "%￥#@..."
Xian Yuzhen switched to Indonesian mixed with English and said, "Find someone who can speak Chinese. I'm looking for Mr. Salleh Latief."
The security guard understood what Xian Yuzhen said, carefully looked her over, sensed her extraordinary aura, and quickly made a "wait" gesture before turning around to find someone.
Xian Yuzhen looked around at the building, took a sip of the green coconut in her hand, and exhaled a pleasant breath of cool air.
It was the hottest time of day, with the sun blazing and the temperature at 32 degrees Celsius. Taking a sip of something cool was just like the vendor's saying: "A young coconut costs 35 cents, and you won't be afraid of dying from the heat after drinking it!"
It was cool, but Xian Yuzhen felt ripped off. The green coconuts that were hastily cut from the coconut trees by the roadside probably wouldn't sell for more than 35 cents.
He took off his Dutch-style round hat and used it to fan himself, humming the tune of the Dutch song "O, Donna Clara".
After the song had been sung twice, five people walked out of the building. One of them was the security guard from before, and the other four were arranged in a three-person guard around the person in the center. Xian Yuzhen squinted and glanced at the face of the person in the center. It was the person in charge, Salle Latif.
She was observing Latif, and Latif was also observing her. Latif had been mentally prepared for her arrival.
Salle Latif was born in Aceh province in 1915. His family were traditional shipping companies. After Indonesia's independence, they turned to crude oil smuggling and cooperated with the Indonesian army and navy.
By the end of 1949, the Netherlands had handed over Aceh Province to the Indonesian government, but the Aceh Los Mawei and Palembang Musi oil fields remained in the hands of Dutch Shell. Latif led a group to steal oil from Shell's oil depots and smuggle it to Singapore.
His smuggling route needed to pass through the patrol area of the Riau Naval Detachment, so it goes without saying that the two sides would naturally engage in friendly cooperation.
Latif had already been informed of Xian Yuzhen's arrival by Ibrahim Habibi, the commander of the Riau Naval Detachment.
He smiled, walked quickly to Xian Yuzhen, and greeted her in fluent Fauci: "Miss Xian, welcome to Jakarta."
Before Indonesia's independence, there were virtually no true national capitalists in Indonesia. There were no industrial capitalists who started from scratch; they were all feudal and colonial-era profiteers. Indonesia's economic lifeline was controlled by the Dutch and Chinese.
Indonesian businessmen, struggling to survive, had to beg for food from wealthy Chinese businessmen. To better curry favor, they naturally had to learn some Chinese. Since Hokkien was too difficult to master, they had to learn some Mandarin spoken by Hokkien people.
Xian Yuzhen lightly touched her chest with her right hand and nodded gently to Latif, "Mr. Latif."
"Miss Xian, please come in, please come in."
Latif warmly welcomed Xian Yuzhen into the living room. After exchanging pleasantries and going through the proper hospitality procedures, the two began to discuss the main topic.
“Mr. Latif, I need a stable supply of 1 barrels of oil per month. Name your price.”
"Received in Singapore?"
"Singapore Strait".
"$35."
Latif was actually supplying light crude oil at the international market price of $2.90 per barrel. The reason why smuggled oil with "no cost" dared to be priced ten times higher was because in 1951, the crude oil supply was basically controlled by the United States, or more precisely, by the US dollar.
Apart from countries in the Soviet bloc, other countries use US dollars to pay for crude oil purchases internationally, and these dollars are most likely supported by the United States. The United States can not only track and record these transactions but also interfere with them. If you want to do something behind the United States' back, you can only secretly buy "black oil."
Since Britain lost its Iranian oil fields, the US crude oil supply system has taken over in a timely manner, while also increasing its extraction in Iraq and Kuwait. Theoretically, there is no shortage of oil, but in reality, there is a severe shortage of crude oil that is "not reflected in the books".
For example, if a navy were to be compromised by another country, it could easily deduce how much oil it burns each month, where it has been, and what it has done by combining this information with other data. In order to avoid this situation, the Far East Fleet needs a large amount of "off-the-books" crude oil.
These are not the only two similar cases. Regardless of which camp you're on, no country will wholeheartedly follow the leader. How could someone who's been shouted "Long live the leader" willingly call someone else "brother"? Every time someone calls someone "brother," it's a sign of enduring hardship and biding their time. They'd be lucky if they didn't seize the opportunity to wipe out the other person's entire family.
Well, having your own parents is worse than having your own parents; having an older brother to protect you is not as good as having your own strength. Call him "brother" properly, but don't stop making small moves.
Smuggled oil is expensive, but there's no worry about finding a market for it.
Xian Yuzhen waved her hand, "Too expensive. The price I can accept is $28, Mr. Latif. I want a long-term partnership, not a one-off deal."
Latif thought for a moment, "$30, after six months of cooperation, the price dropped to $24 for the seventh time, after a year of cooperation, the price dropped to $12 for the fourteenth time, and for the fifteenth time, we renegotiated the price."
As soon as Xian Yuzhen heard this, she knew what Latif was up to. "You said you wanted a long-term partnership, right? I'll agree to your price of $28, but you have to come up with something special."
"No deposit required, cash on delivery. If the money is withheld before delivery, the loss is yours; if it is withheld after delivery, the loss is mine."
There was no room for negotiation on the price; the Far East Fleet's extortionate price was only $28. Latif's decisiveness was probably due to his fear of her identity.
What payment method will you use?
"Dollar, British pound, gold."
"Okay, when do you need the first shipment?"
"How long will it take at the fastest?"
"Ten days."
"I'll arrange and notify you of the trading time."
"it is good."
……
After finishing a bowl of Wen Tou Xue, the summer heat dissipated considerably. Xian Yaowen glanced at his watch; it was almost time. He took Wang Youjia's hand and headed upstairs.
Wang Youjia didn't mind if the outside world knew about their relationship. He didn't mind at all. Having a few women was never a big problem for a man. He didn't even mind being written about in erotic literature by name. He could write whatever he wanted, whether it was praise or criticism.
In fact, there are many articles in Hong Kong newspapers that allude to him. If he hadn't been preparing to keep a low profile and start controlling newspaper coverage of him, he wouldn't have bothered to include him in the story.
He had already squeezed into the circles he wanted to join, and being high-profile had entered a phase where it did more harm than good. From now on, Zhou Ruoyun would be the only one in the Xian family to be high-profile in all aspects, while Cen Peipei would only be high-profile in charity work. Everyone else would keep a low profile in both their work and personal conduct.
The best way to cover up one kind of high profile is to promote another kind of high profile, separating Sin Yiu-man from promising young people and business elites, and deeply associating him with philandering and womanizing. After a period of excitement, the hype will naturally subside once a new leading lady is no longer available.
Furthermore, he is planning to demystify celebrities. In the future, Star magazine will try to selectively write negative articles about certain female stars. Female stars whose private lives are a mess will no longer pretend and will be laid bare for everyone to see, in an attempt to draw the attention of potential customers to their works.
Of course, female stars who want to make a living off peripheral products and fans have to keep pretending, and they have to pretend convincingly. If a female star who is the "pure and innocent leader" dares to mess around and delay his money-making, then she will be gilded and labeled as a female public relations officer. She will either be at a dinner party or on her way to a king-size bed room.
The universally acknowledged "pure and innocent" leader is actually a slut in his arms; the client's emotional value must be maximized.
Male stars are out of the question. There are only a handful of wealthy women in the world, so there's no room for them to shine. Besides, we live in an era dominated by male audiences, so there's no need to overthink the needs of female viewers. Male stars don't need to create a persona; they can just release one or two films from a female perspective each year to cater to that audience.
It's a mild bias, not to the point of "having a wild time outside, contracting gonorrhea and syphilis, but returning home still doting on his wife."
This purely capitalist mindset will only hold true when women dominate the box office and viewership markets. As for making money, it's not shameful to be a shameless sycophant.
He actually regrets missing out on that golden age, when female viewers were much easier to fool than male viewers, and it was also easier to extract a lot of profit from them.
The white peony root from sparrow droppings, the white eagle droppings from eagle droppings, the white pigeon droppings from pigeon droppings, cow dung and cow urine, and donkey urine all have beauty benefits in ancient prescriptions. They could be made into beauty and skincare products and promoted through product placement to young women who are naturally beautiful but don't have much money in their pockets.
The truly high-quality products are unaffordable for young women and can only be enjoyed by the wealthy. They turn excrement into treasure, giving young women a lot of emotional value. A bottle of skincare product only earns a profit of 9527.38%, which can be considered a salvation for all and a touch of maternal instinct.
Climbing the stairs, one could see Lu Yuntao and Li Huiwang waiting at the door.
Xian Yaowen took Wang Youjia's soft hand and walked quickly for two steps. When he arrived in front of the two of them, he naturally let go of Wang Youjia's soft hand and cupped his hands to Lu Yuntao. "The fire is blazing, and I am really sorry to trouble you and your wife to come out to greet us. It makes me feel uneasy."
Lu Yuntao replied with a smile, "A gentle breeze is blowing, and magpies are fluttering about, bringing a refreshing feeling. It is a great honor for Mr. Xian to grace my humble abode with his presence once again."
With a smile, Xian Yaowen bowed to Lu Yuntao and Li Huiwang in turn, then gestured to Wang Youjia, "Mr. Lu, Mrs. Lu, let me introduce you to Ms. Wang Youjia, my business partner and also my confidante."
Upon hearing this, Lu Yuntao looked at Wang Youjia with a keen eye and said, "So it's Ms. Wang. I've heard of your name before, but I never expected to have the honor of meeting you today."
Wang Youjia nodded reservedly, "Mr. Lu, I have come uninvited, which is quite presumptuous. Please forgive me."
"Not at all, Ms. Wang's presence is an honor to my humble abode." Lu Yuntao gestured to Li Huiwang, "Ms. Wang, this is my wife, Huiwang."
Upon hearing this, Wang Youjia met Li Huiwang's gaze. In just one glance, she saw through Li Huiwang's smiling face and noticed the lack of luster in her eyes. She said calmly, "Madam Lu, hello."
"Hello, Ms. Wang," Li Huiwang replied, then turned to Lu Yuntao and said, "Yuntao, it's hot outside. Please invite Mr. Xian and Ms. Wang inside."
"Yes, yes, Mr. Xian, Ms. Wang, please come inside."
After entering the house and sitting in the living room for a short while, exchanging a few pleasantries, Li Huiwang then asked Wang Youjia to leave under some pretext, giving Lu Yuntao and Xian Yaowen some space to talk privately.
Lu Yuntao picked up a butter cookie from the third-tier silver shelf, took a bite, and casually said, "Mr. Xian, your company's manager, Du Mingli, sent me a short copy of 'Li Xianglan' a few days ago. I was very optimistic about the film after reading it. Could Cathay Pacific be given exclusive distribution rights in Singapore and Malaysia?"
"To be honest, Mr. Lu, I don't have much reverence or enthusiasm for the film industry. For me, film is just a business, no different in essence from growing rubber or mining tin."
Sin Yiu-man changed his posture to appear more casual. "My management philosophy for Friendship Films has always been to focus on the overall direction and not get involved in the specific operations. Regarding film distribution, Mr. Luk can send someone to talk to Ming-lai."
Lu Yuntao chuckled and said, "Mr. Xian is truly remarkable. He can manage Friendship Film Studio so well even as a hands-off manager."
“Mr. Lu, please don’t flatter me to death.” Xian Yaowen waved his hand. “I am well aware that there are many shortcomings in my management of Friendship Film Company, but I have always felt that other businesses are more interesting than movies. I have not paid enough attention to movies, and even when I discover problems, I am reluctant to solve them in a timely manner.”
In the early days, I envisioned a grand blueprint for Friendship Film Studio, intending to personally oversee its implementation. However, within three months, I began to delegate tasks and lacked any perseverance, which is truly shameful.
"I have always paid close attention to Friendship Film Company. In less than a year, it has developed to its current scale. If Mr. Xian is ashamed, then I, Lu, can only feel ashamed."
Lu Yuntao felt a surge of warmth in his heart; Xian Yaowen's words seemed to imply a powerful alliance.
Sin Yiu Man chuckled, picked up his teacup and took a sip of black tea. "Just a couple of days ago, I arranged for someone to come to Singapore to establish a branch office. We plan to set up a Malay-language film production base here, aiming at Malaya and Indonesia, and to compete amicably with Mr. Luk and Mr. Shao."
But a telegram I received yesterday disrupted my plans. For a long time to come, I won't have much energy to devote to Friendship Film Studio.
Therefore, I would like to ask Mr. Lu whether there is a possibility that Friendship Films could acquire Cathay Films through a share purchase, and I would also like to ask whether Mr. Lu would be willing to accept the position of Chairman of Friendship Films after the acquisition is completed.
Lu Yuntao was silent for a moment, then said, "Since Mr. Xian is so straightforward, I won't beat around the bush either. I'm very interested in your proposal, but I'd like to hear your valuation of Friendship Films and Cathay first."
"Mr. Lu, you can decide on the valuation of Cathay yourself. If you bring it up in the future, the other shareholder and I will inevitably have a heated debate with you. As for the valuation of Friendship Film, that's a long story, I'll explain it to you slowly."
"Mr. Xian, please speak slowly. I am all ears."
“I have a publishing house in the United States, which raised $3200 million last year at a valuation of $1000 million.”
Upon hearing this, Lu Yuntao's face was filled with surprise, and his jaw dropped.
"To date, the shareholders are quite satisfied with the publisher's development. A few months ago, the publisher began to diversify its operations, establishing a film and television company in Hollywood. About a month ago, this company conducted a round of financing, raising $4000 million at a valuation of $600 million."
The company is currently collaborating with other major Hollywood studios on a large project, tentatively scheduled for a global release next fall.
Sin Yiu-man paused for a moment, then continued, "Friendship Films owns Star Magazine, which sells 1.75 copies per issue. It also owns the film investment company Saen, which invests in independent producers' films in the UK and France. It is not profitable yet, but it has made connections with a large number of European filmmakers."
It has a subsidiary theological company that develops photographic equipment and various shooting techniques.
It has an independently operating screenwriters agency under its umbrella, and almost all of Hong Kong's well-known screenwriters work for this agency.
It oversees the Asia Drama Academy, which was originally just an affiliated training program of the company. A few days ago, it submitted an application to the Hong Kong government to establish an academy. In the future, it will be a well-known drama school in Asia, and celebrities will be proud to be alumni of the school.
Or, in five or ten years, Hong Kong actors will not only need life experience, but also formal training; neither is dispensable.
It owns the Friendship Cinema Circuit, but currently only has one self-operated cinema, which is not worth mentioning.
Its subsidiary, Friendship Distribution, has already established and is in the process of establishing distribution channels in North America, the United Kingdom, France, Japan, Southeast Asia, the Middle East, Taiwan, and South Korea.
In Japan, there is an independently operated subsidiary, Fujiyama Kaisha, which includes Fujiyama Records, Fujiyama Films, Fujiyama Entertainment, and Fujiyama Support Trading Company, and it has already developed quite well.
The company owns a record label called Lang Lang, a popular singer who earns US dollars in the United States. It was a spur-of-the-moment project of mine. Several bands and groups are very popular in Hong Kong and have a good reputation in Singapore. They have already performed on the stage of the Sin Lok Cabaret.
It owns the talent agency Aud, which represents many popular and up-and-coming actresses and top male stars, and has numerous branches overseas.
Odd Montagu, a British businessman, co-founded the company with a close friend of a British political family's daughter and a princess.
It was established in France by Ode Deliou and French actress Danielle Deliou.
Ode Gambino, an Italian company, was established in partnership with an Italian Mafia family that wields considerable influence in both the United States and Italy.
Odd Queensland, Australia, wholly owned by the company.
Australia is a virgin territory for film, with great potential for development. We will invest a lot of energy there in the future.
Taiwan, Friendship Taiwan, a wholly-owned company, has close ties with Taiwan's state-owned film companies.
India, the old black cat, is working on acquiring a film company.
I probably don't need to elaborate on the production company; our two companies have been collaborating for a long time, and Mr. Lu is likely more familiar with them than I am.”
Sin Yiu-man picked up his teacup, took another sip, and gave Luk Wan-tao enough time to digest.
Then, he said calmly, "The major shareholder of Friendship Films is Michelle, the heiress of HSBC. Mr. Lu, Friendship Films may not have many hard assets, but it is not lacking in soft power. To put it bluntly, Cathay Pacific is nothing compared to Friendship Films."
If Friendship Films were to develop its own cinema chain in Singapore and Malaysia, it wouldn't encounter much resistance, and surpassing Cathay Cinemas would only be a matter of time.
Sin Yiu-man tapped his temple. "When Friendship Films was just me running it all alone, I had already figured out how to develop it and how to exit it in the future. Yes, exit. From the very beginning, my idea was to develop Friendship Films and then sell it for a good price."
"If I want to buy it now, Mr. Xian, would you sell it?"
Sin Yiu-man said with a faint smile, "Not only will we sell, but we can also give Mr. Lu a discount. $1 million, and we can sign the contract today."
Lu Yuntao's forehead wrinkles furrowed, and he said with a dark face, "Mr. Xian thinks Friendship Films is worth $1 million?"
"That Hollywood company only had $75 in start-up capital, no projects, no revenue... wait, it started generating revenue a month ago. I signed a female singer who performs at nightclubs, and her earnings are split between her and the company." (End of Chapter)