Chapter 166 Purge and First Meeting

Golden Harvest headquarters in Kowloon, Hong Kong.

In fact, to be honest, this is no longer the headquarters of Golden Harvest, but the headquarters of Golden Harvest Films (Hong Kong) Company.

Taking advantage of this company adjustment, Liu Zhou has moved the registered address of Jiahe Media Holdings Group to Beijing, and the registered addresses of several other branches under it are also moved to Beijing.

Fortunately, Liu Zhou acquired all of Jiahe’s shares and delisted them, otherwise changes in the company would have been a hassle.

But despite this, it still took Zhong Lifang more than three months to complete these tasks.

Now, everything is finally on track.

At this time, Jiahe Hong Kong Company was very busy, not only because of the company's adjustments, but also because of personnel adjustments.

While Zhong Lifang was making adjustments to the company, she and Zou Chongyan also made significant adjustments to the personnel in each department.

All staff members who had lost their ambition, were unable to adjust their attitudes, and were prejudiced against the mainland were dismissed and re-recruited.

Generally, after a merger or acquisition is completed, there will inevitably be a change of blood.

In addition to recruiting several high-level backbones, Liu Zhou also showed no mercy to the people below him and carried out a purge.

This is not only to better control the company, but also to clear out those who cannot keep up with your pace and are not of the same mind, so that you can go into battle with a light load.

Moreover, Liu Zhou had seen many cases in his previous life where managers from Hong Kong and Taiwan colluded to defraud mainland investors.

This is true in the film industry and also in the Internet industry.

A typical example is Tudou Video.

Many people may think that Tudou Video’s failure to go public and its eventual decline was due to the divorce of its founders and the property dispute that led to the failure to go public.

This is indeed an important reason.

But another important reason is the senior executives of Wanwanji in Tudou Video.

Tudou.com was originally developing very well, comparable to Youku, and even with more traffic.

In 09, the authorities issued the "Notice on Strengthening the Management of Internet Audiovisual Program Content", which stipulates that film and television content without a license may not be disseminated on the Internet.

However, some executives of Tudou ignored the interests of the company and purchased a large number of Yiben and Wanwan's programs.

Not only are these programs ridiculously expensive, they are also unlicensed.

This not only caused Tudou.com to waste more than 10 million US dollars, but also ordered it to make rectifications.

Although Tudou.com's listing was interrupted due to the divorce of its founder, which consumed some of its vitality, it did not decline so quickly. In the end, it went from being the leader in the video industry to being acquired by its peers.

A very important reason for this is the messy behavior of some senior executives, who were constantly asked to rectify the situation. In addition, the founder had lost his ambition, which led to the acquisition by Youku.

In addition to Tudou, there is another company with a very similar situation, that is Sina.

Sina.com’s blog and subsequent microblogging division are also filled with many executives from the other side.

During that period, blogs and Weibo were the main channels for domestic public intellectuals to express themselves, and were also the main publicity platforms for Hong Kong and Taiwan celebrities.

The Hong Kong and Taiwan stars at that time were so powerful. In addition to controlling most of the film and television resources at the time, they also had more abundant fashion resources and publicity resources behind them.

This situation had not changed completely even in the second decade of the new century. In the end, there were really not many people there, so they just insisted on holding the Tianting Banquet.

However, Sina's actions are more covert, unlike Tudou's unscrupulous approach, so it is difficult for higher-ups to ask them to rectify the situation.

Liu Zhou would never allow this kind of thing to happen to him. As for Jiahe, those who need to be replaced should be replaced, and those who need to be fired should be fired.

In the conference room, Liu Zhou also convened the first high-level meeting of Golden Harvest Media Group.

Liu Zhou sat in the main seat, and Zhong Lifang, Gao Jun, Zhang Zhao, Zou Chongyan and Chen Guofu were all present.

“Everyone, I’m glad that you trust me and choose to join the Jiahe Group. The group is still very weak now, but I believe that with everyone’s joint efforts, we will be able to achieve greater success.

I am not just shouting slogans or making empty promises. Golden Harvest Group will be listed again. All of you here are core executives of the company, and each of you will have options.

I have also drawn up a timetable for the granting of options, and I will not just make empty promises. As for the timing of Golden Harvest's listing, it depends on the abilities of everyone present here."

As a boss, you must have the ability to paint a rosy picture.

But Liu Zhou did not just make promises to them. When they joined the company, the proportion of options granted was clearly stated in the contract, ranging from 1% to 5%.

When the company goes public again, the value of these shares will be quite high.

"Mr. Liu, don't worry. We will work hard even for the stock options in the contract." Zhong Lifang said with a smile.

Except for Zhong Lifang, the others present were not very familiar with Liu Zhou, so they were all rather reserved. Only Zhong Lifang dared to joke with Liu Zhou.

At the same time, the others did not dare to underestimate this young woman. Not only was she Liu Zhou's confidant, but her position in the group was also half a level higher than theirs, serving as the group's vice president.

Currently, she is the only vice president in the group, which means that Zhong Lifang is also the head of their group.

The newly established Golden Harvest Films, a company that produces and invests in TV dramas, is only managed by her on a part-time basis.

Apart from that, her abilities are obvious to all and recognized by several people.

"Okay, then I'll wait and see. I also hope you can get the options as soon as possible." Liu Zhou also replied with a smile.

With Zhong Lifang mediating, the atmosphere became a little more relaxed.

Liu Zhou stopped talking nonsense and went straight to the point. He first looked at Zou Chongyan and said:
"Boss Zou, after the company's restructuring, although you have less work to do, my support for Golden Harvest Hong Kong will not decrease. If there is a suitable script, we can increase the production."

Liu Zhou: This is also a euphemism. Zou Chongyan suffered the greatest loss in this company adjustment.

He used to hold great power, but now he only manages a production company, and not the core production company. The core production company is the Beijing Company.

Moreover, Liu Zhou was worried that Zou Chongyan would be dissatisfied. Jiahe was originally a native Hong Kong company, but after some adjustments, Jiahe has become a Beijing company.

The Hong Kong side is equivalent to a branch company.

In fact, Liu Zhou had discussed this situation with Zou Wenhuai. He was quite open-minded and had no objection to it. As long as the Golden Harvest label was retained, it would be fine.

Liu Zhou also communicated with her about this matter. Although she tried her best to cooperate, it could be seen that she was not in a very good mood at the time.

Liu Zhou can't always accommodate her. This is a strategic adjustment of the company. If she can't accept it, he can only replace her.

This is not a case of putting away good bows after all the birds have flown away, but the workplace is just that cruel. People who cannot keep pace with the company will be optimized.

Fortunately, Liu Zhou's worries were unnecessary. After this period of adjustment, Zou Chongyan's mentality has obviously changed and his attitude is more positive.

"Okay, Mr. Liu, but I actually received a very good script."

"Oh, what's the script?"

"The film submitted by Director Ye Weixin is called 'SPL'."

Hearing this name, Mr. Liu immediately perked up.

"SPL" is undoubtedly one of the better Hong Kong films of the new century, and the action scenes are very exciting, especially the fight scene between Donnie Yen and Wu Jing in the alley, which is a classic.

Moreover, this movie is made into a series, and the last two parts have done well at the box office.

"If you think it's good, then vote for it."

"Okay, Mr. Liu, but there is not much money left in the company's account."

"Don't worry about that. The funding problem will be solved in a few days. By the way, why did Ye Weixin hand the script to our Jiahe?"

“There are very few people investing in movies in Hong Kong now, and all the projects are submitted by various companies, and Ye Weixin is also from Golden Harvest.

He used to work as a production manager at Golden Harvest and gradually became a director. Now we are not as half-dead as before, so he still hopes that we can invest. "

"Okay, then I'll leave this project to you."

"What about your New World project, Mr. Liu?"

"Mr. Zhong will be my producer for this project, and you can arrange two experienced executive producers."

"Ok."

Since we are talking about the company's film project, Liu Zhou also looked at Zhang Zhao who had been sitting upright and said:
"Mr. Zhang, we currently have two projects in the mainland. One is the big production of Red Cliff. Mr. Chen can take charge of this one. He is also familiar with it.

There is also "Crazy Stone", this project is relatively small, you don't need to pay too much attention to it.

In addition, I have already written the script for "The Sword of Embroidery", and I need you to start preparing for it and find a good director first."

"Okay, Mr. Liu, but our company doesn't have any money in its account. The Red Cliff project team is urging us to pay back the investment as soon as possible. The funds from the other investors have already been paid."

"I will take care of this. I know that each company doesn't have much money in its account right now. In a few days, I will inject 300 million into the group to completely solve the development funding problem of each of your companies."

After hearing Liu Zhou's words, everyone present except Zhong Lifang couldn't help but be shocked.

Three hundred million at a time, it seems that the new boss is more powerful than they imagined.

But after the shock, I felt happy, which proved that my choice was wise.

Finally, Liu Zhou looked at Gao Jun, and he immediately straightened his back slightly.

“Mr. Gao, your affairs may become more onerous.

First of all, you need to sort out the two companies, Golden Harvest Cinema Line and Golden Harvest International, and thoroughly sort out their overseas theaters and distribution.

Asia is our base and we must consolidate it.

As for the United States, there is no need to continue investing. It is enough to maintain good relations with the cinema chains in the Chinese community and with Warner and Lionsgate.

We will probably have very few films released in the United States in the future.”

Liu Zhou noticed that Gao Jun was taking notes while listening, and continued:

"Then, you need to assist Mr. Zhang in establishing the distribution network of Golden Harvest Films (Beijing) Company.

The last issue is Golden Harvest Cinemas’ official entry into the mainland market.

Golden Harvest had already started discussions about the cinema in Pengcheng, and you need to implement this project as soon as possible.

Not only in Pengcheng, but also in Beijing, Shanghai, and Guangzhou, you must build a Golden Harvest luxury cinema. I can give you 100 million yuan in funding in the early stages."

"Okay, Mr. Liu, these are my main areas of expertise. I promise I won't fall behind."

"You don't have to worry too much. I don't have any requirements for you this year. Just organize the company and take charge of it. I will see the results starting next year."

After talking about Liu Zhou’s future plans for each company and discussing some other things, Liu Zhou announced the end of the meeting.

Zhang Zhao and Chen Guofu will return to Beijing, while Gao Jun will stay in Hong Kong for the time being and will need to stay here for a while.

Zou Chongyan also went to work on the "SPL" project.

The casting of this movie is pretty good, and Liu Zhou won't interfere.

After returning to his office, Liu Zhou called Zhong Lifang over again.

"Boss Zhong, when will the funds be available?"

"The stocks are already being delivered. It will probably take another three days."

"As soon as possible, the company needs money everywhere now."

The final budget for the "Red Cliff" project was 45 million US dollars, or about 400 million yuan.

Liu Zhou holds a 20% share and needs to pay 80 million.

There is also the project "Xiu Chun Dao 2", which also requires at least million in investment.

In addition, in Hong Kong, Liu Zhou's "New World" and the newly launched "SPL" will require a total of tens of millions.

This is not the bulk of the money, the cinema companies are the real money-makers!
It may continue for several years in the future, and Liu and Zhou will need to invest money.

But it's all worth it. After Jiahe Group goes public, Liu Zhou will be able to make back a hundred or a thousand times the money.

"Mr. Liu, we don't actually need to sell the stocks. The market is so good right now, we can use the stocks as collateral."

"Forget it, I don't like to owe money, and I'm not short of money now anyway.

In addition to the funds injected into Jiahe Group from the sale of shares, I also used them to repay the 40 million I had previously borrowed from the bank and the several million dollars I had pledged when I acquired Under the Banyan Tree.”

In 2001, when Liu Zhou came to Hong Kong to buy at the bottom, he borrowed 40 million from the bank due to insufficient funds. It has been four years now.

He felt bad about paying millions of dollars in interest every year.

This time, Liu Zhou did not touch Sina and NetEase stocks, but sold Amazon stocks.

Amazon's stock price has skyrocketed in the past two years, from a market value of more than a billion US dollars when Liu Zhou bought it to a current market value of over 30 billion US dollars.

The 10 million U.S. dollars that Liu Zhou originally invested is now worth nearly 300 million U.S. dollars!

This time, Liu Zhou did not cash out all of his shares, but only 400 million. He will keep the other stocks, which can continue to appreciate in value.

Seeing that Liu Zhou had made up his mind, Zhong Lifang didn't say anything more.

Although this approach seems very conservative, it is also more practical and the company's development is relatively stable.

"Once you're done with these things, please prepare for the New World project with me as soon as possible. I'm on a tight schedule this time. After filming this movie, I have to start acting in a movie right away."

Hearing Liu Zhou's words, Zhong Lifang couldn't help but smile and said:

"I've never seen Mr. Liu act, so I'm looking forward to it."

"It's worth looking forward to. This may be the only time I get to act."

(End of this chapter)