Capítulo 498: Chapter 498: Hong Kong is not Safe for Billionaires
[Chapter 561: The Table Can Be Turned]
"So, this kind of rapid economic growth driven by increased investment is neither sustainable nor free from crisis, and it can lead to serious social turmoil and economic consequences."
Listening to Emily Shead's warning, Arthur's sharp gaze reflected the gravity of the situation. "The economic growth in Southeast Asian countries right now is like building on quicksand; it's bound to collapse sooner or later."
Arthur continued, "I just want to deal with Indonesia first. You're aware of Wall Street's plans for harvesting Asia, right?"
"Right now, I have $1.2 billion in cash to play with," he added.
Emily nodded thoughtfully, "We could start by borrowing heavily from Indonesian banks in rupiah."
"We'll then leak some negative news and sell off a large amount of rupiah, causing the exchange rate to drop. The Indonesian government will have to maintain the value of the rupiah to protect its international credit, which will deplete its foreign reserves," she explained. "Afterwards, with international capital flooding in and domestic politics in chaos, Indonesia won't stand a chance!"
Arthur nodded, "I never expected we could do this alone; just getting the ball rolling is enough. The sharks on Wall Street are very sensitive to the scent of opportunity."
"Leave the politics and media side to me!" he boldly declared.
What gave Arthur such confidence? It was the typical American method; if all else fails, just flip the table!
Hegemony means always being the one to benefit!
Emily chimed in, "Got it. I'll make a trip to Jakarta."
...
In the evening, Arthur came to Vivian Chow's villa in Kowloon Tong.
"Hong Kong hasn't been very safe lately; you need to be careful!"
Arthur raised an eyebrow, "What's going on?"
Vivian was serious. "A couple of days ago, a kidnapper took Hong Kong tycoon Li Ka-shing's son, Li Zeju, and demanded a ransom of 1 billion Hong Kong dollars!"
Arthur's eyes widened.
"Is it really that intense?" Arthur didn't expect to land in such a dramatic situation right off the bat.
Shrugging it off, he quipped, "Does anyone really dare to kidnap me? I'm not exactly a permanent resident here."
Calculating his worth, Arthur owned 51% of Galaxy, which was valued at over $15 billion. When adding his other assets, he was comfortably in the $20 billion range.
Currently, the nominal richest in Hong Kong, Li Ka-shing, had a net worth of about 126 billion Hong Kong dollars, so Arthur was pretty close!
"Well, just be careful," Vivian reassured him, not overly worried since Arthur had always been discreet in Hong Kong.
This year, MGM invited Jackie Chan to America to film Rush Hour, while Tomorrow Never Dies also cast Michelle Yeoh as a Bond girl.
In Hong Kong, Galaxy was pretty active in Asia this year.
After dinner, Arthur settled on the couch with Vivian, watching the news. Sure enough, there was a lot of coverage about kidnappings.
After all, 1 billion Hong Kong dollars was no small change.
Arthur leaned in and kissed Vivian Chow. "So, you really aren't making movies anymore?"
"I don't want to act anymore. I'm taking a break to focus on music. I have two or three new albums in the works this year," Vivian smiled.
"After Galaxy acquired BMG, we've had a lot more resources at our disposal, but it's a bit of a shame," she sighed. "The New Talent Singing Awards in Hong Kong has nothing to do with BMG anymore; TVB is running it now, and it's been rebranded as the Global Chinese New Talent Singing Awards!"
Arthur shrugged, "Warner, Polygram, and EMI can poach talent too, but I can still get talent for Galaxy. Besides, aside from Time Warner, can any of the others really compete with Galaxy?"
"Yeah, Galaxy has been doing great since going public, and now Galaxy BMG is spending generously," Vivian said, also having 200,000 shares of Galaxy stock, worth around $15 million dollars.
"Oh, and by the way, with Hong Kong returning to China next year, you need to keep an eye on the Chinese market. Many Hong Kong entertainment companies are sending people there to expand their markets," she reminded him.
Arthur leaned back on the sofa. "Well, there's a joint venture record company over there called Galaxy China."
"As for everything else, aside from vying for those ten import film quota slots each year, there really isn't much else we can do," he continued. "After all, let alone film distribution, they haven't even opened up film production; private companies aren't even qualified to produce films. Plus, they haven't joined the WTO, and there aren't any diplomatic measures in place."
Arthur planned to make a big move into the oil industry in Southeast Asia, but it was also preparation for the larger development of China in the future.
When China joins the WTO, the demand for energy will be enormous, and with their lack of oil, they couldn't just rely on their domestic coal barons, could they?
"Is that so?" Vivian seemed to understand but not fully.
"Don't worry; right now, it's just about laying the groundwork and letting everyone know that Galaxy and MGM are the players to watch. The entertainment industry in the mainland is just a little fish; I genuinely don't care," Arthur said with conviction.
However, Western Oil company was quite interested in China's petrochemical industry, but their capacity was nowhere near that of Mobil, Exxon, or Chevron.
When it came to industrial layout, they were simply too far behind!
But with opportunities at hand -- once they secured the major oil fields on Java Island, Western Oil would have access to the Southeast Asian energy market and crude oil industry.
After that, there would be opportunities to acquire other oil fields or gas companies, turning it into something big.
*****
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