Chapter 284: Hong Kong Godfather
In mid-August, Liu Zhicheng led his team to New York again because Richman, the owner of Olympia York, had run out of options.

During the 'bankruptcy protection' phase of Olympia York, the plan proposed by Richman and his advisory team did not progress smoothly and it was difficult to reach a consensus among the many bond banks.

At this time, Richman had to consider the worst-case scenario, so he remembered the plan proposed by Liu Zhicheng and decided to consider selling eight skyscrapers in Manhattan to the Whampoa Group.

The vacancy rate is as high as over 20%, and the buildings were built relatively early - there are two buildings from the s, four buildings from the s, and two buildings from the s.

The age of the building means that it will require a lot of investment to upgrade and redecorate it in the future, which is a very large investment.

Of course, even though there are many shortcomings and risks, Liu Zhicheng still intends to take it.

After all, opportunities are rare!
The so-called opportunity is naturally due to Richman’s cooperation, which is the basis of the discount transaction.

If Richman had not been eager for Liu Zhicheng to work on London's 'Canary Wharf', he would have let the company go bankrupt rather than sell the property so cheaply.

Richman spoke first: "Mr. Liu, assuming that I sell these eight buildings to you at a discount, should we sign a private agreement involving the 'Canary Wharf' project?"

Liu Zhicheng smiled and shook his head, saying, "Mr. Richman, I think you should trust me. I am the richest Chinese man and have never done anything to damage my reputation.

The important thing is that I am very interested in the Canary Wharf project and will definitely invest in it.”

Signing that kind of agreement is more or less a risky thing!
Richman looked at Liu Zhicheng seriously, and then jokingly said, "Mr. Liu really has a good appetite. He bought nearly half of my decades of achievements at one time."

Liu Zhicheng spread his hands and said, "It's a win-win cooperation! I'm helping Mr. Richman to make a comeback. Let's not talk about the London project.
This transaction alone may change the fate of Olympia York."

With revenue of more than one billion US dollars, perhaps Olympia York's debtor banks will agree to some conditions.

Although the chances are small, Richman might be trying his best.

Sure enough, Richman's expression changed slightly. The reason for this was that he felt that Liu Zhicheng was too good at judging people, and he did have this kind of luck in his heart.

Then, Richman said, "I hope to sell these eight buildings for $160 per square foot. After all, they are my assets now, and I don't want them to be too cheap!"

Liu Zhicheng immediately said: "No one will buy at this price in the next three years. My team has investigated and found that large companies in Manhattan have moved away, and the economic environment of the United States has been affected.

If there are no new opportunities, it will not have this value in the next five years! If we did not intend to hold it for a long time, why would we take such a risk!
So, I hope to close the deal at $140 per square meter. Don’t forget, I have additional conditions for you.”

There are a total of 1180 million square feet of office space in eight buildings, each of which is equivalent to Whampoa Plaza in Central, with an area of ​​140 to 160 million square feet.

But in fact, the height does not exceed 200 meters, so it cannot be considered a skyscraper. However, the buildings in the United States are quite "big", with each floor covering about 3 square feet.

The 'Central Whampoa Plaza' in Hong Kong has less than 2 square feet per floor (78 floors, total area of ​​140 million square feet).

Because the area is large enough, Liu Zhicheng has to bargain carefully for the price per square foot! He will not buy it if it is more than US$150 per square foot.

So, the two sides negotiated the price, but they also took each other into consideration, and the final price was settled at US$148.

This unit price is equivalent to US$17.5 billion, or approximately HK$136 billion, for the transaction.

So, in the end, Liu Zhicheng said: "Since we have reached a preliminary agreement, both parties need to prepare.

Mr. Richman needs to convince the creditor banks, and I need to convince the lending banks, and hopefully we can close the deal in September.”

Richman immediately said, "Our creditor bank must also be your lending bank, so that it will be easier to pass this transaction. Mr. Liu, don't you agree?"

Liu Zhicheng thought about it and felt that it was true. The important thing was that Liu Zhicheng originally planned to borrow money from HSBC and Citibank.

"Yes, then let's work together to promote this deal! To be honest, I would rather cooperate with Mr. Richman on the 'Canary Wharf' project.

Of course, I mean that this project must be led by you so that it can be completed as planned."

Seeing Liu Zhicheng like this, Richman was also quite touched. He also attached great importance to the "Canary Wharf" project, far more than the eight buildings in Manhattan.

In fact, another reason for Richman's failure in London was that his patron, Mrs. Saunders, was no longer prime minister.

Therefore, the subway project promised by the government has been shelved due to the poor economic conditions in Europe and the United States in recent years.

In Liu Zhicheng's view, if he redeemed the project for Richman (from the creditor banks), he would be the second-in-command and the largest shareholder.

Then, he can not only assist Richman in business layout, but Liu Zhicheng also has good methods on how to deal with the external environment.

For example, the first thing to do is to deal with the subway issue. The London government also realized that Canary Wharf cannot be shut down because it is not good for the government's image.

At that time, the investors will provide the government with part of the money, and the subway project will naturally be approved.

You have to know that in the future, 6.5 people will come to work in the Canary Wharf project, so you can imagine how huge the project is.

Therefore, it is very cost-effective to provide hundreds of millions of US dollars to the London government.

"Thank you for your trust, Mr. Liu. If I have the chance, I will definitely find you as my first investor!"

Richman also knew that Liu Zhicheng was a very good investor. As both of them were owners of real estate companies, they must have something in common.

Of course, the Canary Wharf project is too large, so other investors are naturally indispensable.

Hong Kong!

In the HSBC Building, Liu Zhicheng and Pu Weishi discussed the loan issues for the acquisition of the "eight buildings in Manhattan".

Pu Weishi couldn't help but sigh at Liu Zhicheng's courage in swallowing up eight skyscrapers in Manhattan in one go.

What’s important is that even with such a huge investment, Whampoa Group’s financial situation remains very solid.

The loan is HK$86 billion (US$11 billion), and the debt of Huangpu Group is only HK$166 billion, and the debt ratio still does not exceed %.

What’s important is that in Pu Weishi’s opinion, this deal was a very good deal because the price offered by Olympia York was very low, and it was unknown how Liu Zhicheng reached the agreement.

"Mr. Liu said that Hong Kong is too small for you, and he is absolutely right. Your company's possession of such a large property in New York is an important breakthrough for the Whampoa Group overseas."

Liu Zhicheng replied: "What really impressed me about this acquisition is that the properties were cheap enough. Therefore, Huangpu Group wanted to make a long-term investment. After all, it is difficult to get good returns in the short term."

Pu Weishi nodded. If it were any other company, they might not have the ability to take it over.

But for the real estate dividends of Huangpu Group, the impact is indeed not particularly large.

What's more, Huangpu Group also holds a considerable amount of US stocks, and I heard that it has also reaped great benefits.

In the end, Pu Weishi readily agreed to a loan of US$4 million, with the collateral being part of the equity in the Central Whampoa Plaza and Avenue Central office building properties.

Next, Liu Zhicheng reached a US$5 million loan agreement with Citibank, with the collateral being part of the equity of the Citigroup Center and Wing On Center.

For the remaining US$200 million in loans, the lenders are even more dispersed, including three commercial banks.

Liu Zhicheng didn't care about the 166 billion loan from Huangpu Group at all. He would repay it slowly when he had money and ensured sufficient cash flow.

After the matter with the main lender was settled, Liu Zhicheng asked Hao Qingwen to preside over the follow-up work of the transaction. He only needed to appear at the signing table at the moment of the transaction.

…………

This summer, ATV achieved another success. The average viewership of the 52-episode large-scale costume drama "Tan Yunxian" surpassed "Judge Bao", and its novel subject matter was well received by the public.

In the past, costume dramas were just costume dramas!
Although "Tan Yunxian" is a costume drama, it incorporates modern elements.

Especially in the entire TV series, the female characters have a very large space, and the intrigues between them are refreshing.

The heroine's character is not perfect (she acts straightforwardly and casually, which causes a lot of trouble).

But her innate optimistic character is an excellent interpretation of her indomitable willpower throughout her life.

The heroine shows quite modern elements in her career - enterprising and pioneering.

Coupled with the emotional entanglement between the heroine and the emperor and his ministers (choose the one you like), it further proves that this is a "Hong Kong culture" drama.

For a time, ATV received a lot of positive letters from citizens, which filled up ATV’s warehouse.

Hong Kong culture succeeds again!

However, it is unlikely that "Tan Yunxian" will be introduced overseas and inland this year, because each region and country has restrictions on the import of foreign films every year.

This year's "Autumn in My Heart" and "Stairway to Heaven" have been exported to many countries and regions, so "Tan Yunxian" is expected to explode in the copyright export wave next year.

Asia Satellite TV has resumed broadcasting in August, creating a win-win situation: it can increase the number of viewers of Asia Satellite TV and promote Hong Kong culture.

In addition to the huge success of the drama, the first "Chinese Idol" also created a huge influence in the entire Chinese community in Asia.

This influence is more successful than "The Voice of China". Liu Zhicheng has analyzed that it is probably because the word "idol" is more recognized by men, women, young and old.

"Chinese Idol" is broadcasted by Asia Television Chinese Channel and Asia Satellite Television at the same time, which shows how much attention it has received. As for the sponsor this time, Liu Zhicheng let "Wong Lo Kat" be the "Jia Duo Bao" in the previous life of "The Voice of China", and let the host directly insert the product advertisement at a very fast speed.

It is conceivable that with highly efficient marketing, Wanglaoji's orders in Asia have increased several times.

Friday, September 8st.

Liu Zhicheng arrived at the ATV headquarters on Broadcast Road, and his motorcade drove into the building under the guidance of security personnel.

During this time, he looked through the car window at the reporters and fans on both sides and couldn't help but smile.

This is called 'the star's way to work', a kind of 'fan economy' secretly guided by ATV. Every Friday when "Music Bank" is filmed, many reporters and fans come to ATV headquarters to film and interact with stars in the designated area of ​​ATV.

ATV has a rule that all artists participating in "Music Bank" must walk through this "star's way to work" in advance.

As for whether or not to interact with fans, ATV only asked YG Entertainment to do a good job of fan management, and other brokerage companies did not ask any questions.

The Korean Wave in the past was so powerful, but it also had systematic development in all aspects, such as fan clubs and fan groups; all these things were created by YG Entertainment.

"Who is this? How can the car drive in?" said a crazy fan unhappily.

Why should our idols have to walk in while the privileged people have to drive luxury cars into ATV?

"That's the Godfather of Hong Kong pop. You must have gone crazy chasing after him!" a fan said unhappily.

After despising the fans of the T group, the fan shouted to Liu Zhicheng's team: "Mr. Liu Zhicheng, I hope you can give our Shinhwa group more resources. They work so hard!"

"Oh, sorry, Mr. Liu Zhicheng, please take care of our T team!"

All of a sudden, a group of fans were unwilling to be outdone and started to canvass for votes for their idols.

Liu Zhicheng had sensitive ears, and even though he didn't open the car window, he could still hear what was happening outside. He was immediately surprised.

In his previous life, he always heard that Hong Kong citizens treated celebrities the same way as ordinary people.

Why is it like this now!

Arrived at the ATV building.

This immediately attracted admiring glances from artists and staff. Liu Zhicheng was the first to propose the term "Hong Kong culture".

Therefore, some Hong Kong media call Liu Zhicheng the "Godfather of Hong Kong Wave".

His influence is so great that no one in the history of Hong Kong's entertainment industry can compare to him.

After all, if Hong Kong culture had not become popular, or if the so-called "Hong Kong culture" was just developed on the basis of predecessors, Liu Zhicheng would not have such a high influence.

However, the 'Hong Kong Culture' led by Liu Zhicheng is a brand-new entertainment culture that includes new forms and directions of three types of entertainment programs: music, dramas and variety shows, and has also achieved huge success in Asia.

In the office, Liu Zhicheng asked his assistant to call the senior executives one by one to report on their work.

Liu Zhicheng was quite satisfied with the results of the report. ATV is full of talented people, and Liu Zhicheng's work as the commander is becoming easier and easier.

Hong Kong is a small city with a population of only 600 million, so ATV is an one-stop production line.

The drama production department, variety show production department, news department, broadcasting department, and public relations department do not require any outsourcing and are all self-sufficient.

If you really want to talk about the outsourcing department, you can only say that you have cooperated with some brokerage companies, that's all.

ATV also has many subsidiaries, such as Asia Satellite TV, YG Entertainment, record companies, advertising companies, etc., which can be said to be huge in scale.

Today, ATV has more than 4000 employees, nearly twice as many as TVB, mainly due to the addition of companies such as YG Entertainment and Asia Satellite TV.

ATV is already a blue chip stock in Hong Kong, and its annual profit this year may reach HK$10 billion, making it a veritable giant company.

The profit is about three times that of wireless, and this is due to the high expenses.

Liu Zhicheng stretched his body. Sometimes listening to reports was a boring thing, but it was more interesting when he assigned tasks.

However, reporting work is very important, otherwise we won’t know how well the assigned work has been completed!
"dong dong"

"Come in"

Several people walked in, and Liu Zhicheng naturally knew them all, including the person in charge and director of Hong Kong dramas, the first-generation Korean actress Athena Chu, and a female screenwriter.

"boss"

"Sit first!"

After everyone sat down, Liu Zhicheng asked curiously, "What do you want to talk to me about?"

The female screenwriter handed a script to Liu Zhicheng and said, "Boss, it's the script of Full House!"

Liu Zhicheng smiled and said, "Just shoot it. Hong Kong dramas have become a system in ATV, and they still need an outsider like me to participate."

Having said that, Liu Zhicheng opened it and looked at it casually.

The director immediately said, "How about Zhu Ying as the female lead?"

Liu Zhicheng raised his head and looked at Zhu Ying generously. There was no need to look for an actress like Song Hye Kyo. After all, it was the work that made the actor, not the actor who made the work.

But then again, Athena Chu is still pretty. A little different from her previous life, she now dresses and wears Hong Kong style makeup.

Liu Zhicheng only told his subordinates what the "Korean Wave" makeup in the previous life looked like, that is, it required to be delicate, the hair had to be slightly dyed, and the eyebrows had to be done.

In short, the makeup system was systematic at the beginning. It didn't require to be exactly the same, but the style needed to be similar.

"How old is Miss Zhu?"

As soon as he dared to look into Zhu Ying's eyes, he would immediately look away, like a little deer.

"Boss, I'm 21 years old!"

Liu Zhicheng smiled and said, "It's incredible! At the age of 21 or 22, being famous all over Asia is definitely something that many artists envy.

I value Full House because it is going to open up a new model for Hong Kong dramas. It will no longer continue the tragic love stories of the past. It wants to tell the audience that they can be happy and lively and can also fall in love.

When talking about the plot, Liu Zhicheng seemed to recall the "Full House" starring Song Hye Kyo and Jung Ji Hoon in his previous life. For a moment, the screenwriter and director hurriedly listened carefully, for fear of missing it.

In fact, Liu Zhicheng may have said everything he should say.

"The heroine in this story is a script writer with strange ideas. She loves to daydream. Although she seems to have many shortcomings, this is actually human nature.

And the important thing is that the heroine is strong and independent, with a strong self-esteem. She may be careless, but her personality is definitely loved by all men because she is kind and enthusiastic.

The characters of the heroine and hero form a contrast. The hero is a big star, but he is not very good at expressing his emotions. He is a little introverted, kind-hearted, and has a childlike personality. He often quarrels for no reason.

"Let me tell you a little story. For example, the heroine bit her lip and looked at the hero with a 'disdainful look', expressing her disdain for the hero's 'childish' temper. In fact, this is a bickering love!"

He couldn't help but speak for a while, and as soon as he finished speaking, everyone couldn't help but applaud.

Finally, Liu Zhicheng asked, "Has the Full House house been built?"

The person in charge of the Hong Kong drama quickly said: "We are still in the final stage of construction, and we expect to be able to shoot in mid-September!"

Liu Zhicheng nodded. The Full House project was a collaboration with the Huangpu Group. The land and funds were provided by the Huangpu Group, and the plan was designed by Asia Television.

Huangpu Group also did not lose money because it was paid for the product placement.

Finally, Liu Zhicheng said: "Let's do this, I'll contact you if there's any situation, otherwise we'll prepare for the filming!

As long as this series is successful, you will have mastered the culture of Hong Kong dramas. I hope you will produce more excellent works in the future."

"Yes, boss"

Seeing everyone leaving, Liu Zhicheng couldn't help but want to ask Zhu Yin to stay so that they could discuss the script.

But after thinking about it, I decided to give up. Hong Kong culture is an important part of his life and I can’t mess with it.

Although Hong Kong female idols will become the objects of pursuit by Hong Kong's wealthy men in the future, there are no real chaebols in Hong Kong and no one can intimidate the stars.

Of course, inducement is normal.

(End of this chapter)