Chapter 772: Investing in the Future of Korean Chaebols
Chapter 772: Investing in the Future of Korean Chaebols
"More than 1000? Third, how many cinemas does the largest cinema chain in Japan have now?" Yang Wendong asked;
Zou Wenhuai said: "The No. 2000 company is Shochiku Co., Ltd., which has about 20 cinemas in Japan, basically accounting for % of the Japanese market."
"There are 10,000 cinema chains in Japan?" Yang Wendong asked in surprise.
Zou Wenhuai said: "Yes, these also include small cinemas in some towns. Japan has a population of nearly 100 million, and there is an average of one cinema for every 10,000 people.
Hong Kong has a population of 400 million and over 200 cinema chains. Although the ratio is a little different, considering that Japan has many small towns and a more developed economy, the comparison is about the same.”
"Yeah, that's right." Yang Wendong nodded;
Cinemas in this era are still different from those in the mainland in the past. In the past, it was impossible for an average of 10,000 to 20,000 people to have one cinema, but now it is possible;
On the one hand, today's cinemas all have one screen each, and are small in scale, while in the past, there were an average of more than a dozen screens in mainland China, and they were much larger in scale; on the other hand, the means of entertainment are different. In this era, apart from TV dramas, movies are almost the only entertainment, so many people would think of going to the cinema when they have nothing to do.
Zou Wenhuai continued, "Mr. Yang, if we want to expand our scale quickly, the best way is to continue acquiring small cinema chains. So I plan to continue acquiring them and increase the number of our cinema chains to at least around 1500."
"How many cinema chains do we have in Southeast Asia now?" Yang Wendong asked again.
Zou Wenhuai said: "About 800. We can build them there by ourselves, but because of the complicated forces within the city, after the megacity is built, we have to be cautious when entering other cities and cooperate with the locals, so the progress is a bit slow."
Different countries have different investment strategies. For a well-developed country like Japan, where cinema chains have already been built around the population, building one yourself would be vicious competition and would most likely end in failure, so it is more suitable to acquire existing cinemas.
The situation is the opposite in Southeast Asia. There are no cinemas around where people live, and the land price is cheap, so it is most suitable to invest on your own.
It's just that places like Southeast Asia are too chaotic, especially small and medium-sized cities, where good and bad people are mixed together. Even the strong ones have to cooperate with the local snakes, which naturally slows down the progress.
"Well, it's pretty good to be able to do this." Yang Wendong nodded and said, "Okay, since we are planning to invest in large-scale properties in Japan, you can continue to acquire cinemas;
However, the most convenient way is to acquire other large cinema chains. Have you discussed this with Shochiku and Toho?"
Zou Wenhuai said: "We have discussed it, but there are big financial groups behind these film companies, and they don't lack this little money, so they are unwilling to acquire them. In fact, the entertainment companies are also controlled by these theaters."
"It's different from the United States." Yang Wendong smiled and said, "Well, how are our Hong Kong films doing in Japan now?"
Hong Kong movies are not only popular in Southeast Asia, but also have achieved some success in Japan, South Korea and even the Middle East. Li Xiaolong is a global superstar, and his popularity in many places is much better than that of other American stars.
This is also the reason why Hollywood giants are willing to pay a high price to hire Li Xiaolong, and Li Xiaolong even got the right to share in the movie box office.
Zou Wenhuai said: "Li Xiaolong's movies are very popular in Japan, whether they are Hong Kong movies or Hollywood movies. There are also several people in other Hong Kong movies who are famous in Japan. I have also specially promoted them in Japan in recent years. They have also participated in some variety shows in Japan, but they are still at the level of second-tier stars and are far inferior to Li Xiaolong."
"Let's take it step by step. It's already pretty good." Yang Wendong nodded and said, "If you want to be famous in Japan, you don't just have to rely on capital. Capital can only pave the way. If you want to be really famous, you still have to rely on your own acting skills and the content of the movie."
Just like our own channels in the United States, we can expand through capital, but if we want our products to sell well in the United States, the core is still our own quality;
The same is true in the entertainment industry.
Zou Wenhuai smiled and said, "I understand. Relying on the overseas market, our group now gives three to five times more returns to the celebrity group than before. Many capable people in Hong Kong have already participated.
Whether it is the wireless training class or my Changxing film training class, there are a large number of high-quality young people. I think in a few years, among them, there will definitely be top Asian stars.”
Yang Wendong said: "This is also my original goal, to continue to explore the Asian and Hollywood markets and give the Hong Kong entertainment industry sufficient returns. In this way, the entire market will naturally develop on its own."
The real big capital is not to make a person famous, but to make the whole industry famous;
Even if he developed stars like Stephen Chow, Chow Yun Fat, and Jackie Chan today, he might be able to earn a lot of money, but it is far less than the huge profits brought by controlling the entire market now. At the same time, the feedback from the market also allows more people to make money, which in turn attracts more young people to join, forming a virtuous circle;
Of course, Li Xiaolong is an exception, but Yang Wendong went to him specifically to find a key to break the impasse for Hong Kong films. Once Hong Kong films successfully enter the Asian market, even if Li Xiaolong is gone, they can still last for a long time.
Zou Wenhuai nodded and said, "Yes, Mr. Yang is really capable. Over the years, our group has become the largest cinema chain in Asia. If we continue to develop, many major Hollywood film companies will be under my control."
"It's not that exaggerated. Don't look down on the Americans. They will still be our strongest competitors." Yang Wendong smiled.
The gradual closure of Hong Kong's entertainment industry by American blockbusters and Asian countries in the 90s will be a hidden danger, but this problem is still 15 years away from now, so there is no rush. There is a way to break the deadlock anyway, and that is to seize the mainland market and integrate with the mainland entertainment industry. This can be gradually planned after the reform and opening up, and there is 10 years to prepare, so it is completely in time.
Zou Wenhuai said: "I know that the movies made in the United States recently are indeed very good. Many directors in Hong Kong are now directly imitating them without even paying the copyright fees. The film companies in the United States have complained to me, but I don't care about it."
"High imitation? That's indeed very clever." Yang Wendong nodded.
It is indeed difficult to determine plagiarism if the content is significantly changed based on the skeleton, and even for American companies, it would be a thankless task to sue Hong Kong film companies in Asia.
Zou Wenhuai asked again: "Mr. Yang, do we need to enter the Korean cinema chain?"
"Korea? It's difficult, right?" Yang Wendong asked back;
South Korea at this time was still in a special era, and it was not until the late 70s that things started to change. Yang Wendong believed that his butterfly effect should not be able to affect this.
However, even though the times are special, South Korea's economic development is still very fast today.
Zou Wenhuai said, "That's fine. Although South Korea is under martial law now, all kinds of commercial activities are normal. It's just that heavy industry and other industries are more controlled. The entertainment industry will also be censored more strictly. It's also difficult for Hong Kong films to enter, but there will be a few every year. And I'm going to invest in theaters here, so the safety should be higher."
"What if I want to invest in other industries in Korea?" Yang Wendong asked in return;
It is a small matter for cinema chains to enter South Korea. It does not matter whether they can succeed or not. However, the future of South Korea lies in the presence of many chaebol giants. Some of them are not very large now. If they can be invested normally, it will be a good opportunity for themselves.
Zou Wenhuai was stunned for a moment, and said, "I'm not sure about that. It depends on what industry you invest in. Steel, petrochemicals, etc. are definitely difficult, but other industries may still be successful."
"Then is there any unsafe factor in going to South Korea now?" Yang Wendong asked again.
Zou Wenhuai said: "It is possible, so even if you want to invest in South Korea, you don't have to go there in person, just arrange someone to go there."
Even if they have a high status, they cannot change their nature. It is not a big problem for them to go to some relatively unsafe places. But Yang Wendong, the top rich man in Asia, is different.
Yang Wendong nodded and said, "That's right, then you can do it yourself. If South Korea can also own the property, then they can develop a cinema chain by owning the property. You can buy it or build it yourself. It's up to you."
South Korea is only slightly larger than Taiwan and much smaller than Japan. Its economy at this time is not stronger than some Southeast Asian countries. It won't cost much to invest there, so he won't care about such trivial matters.
On April 4, Yang Wendong returned to Hong Kong. After a day's rest, Yang Wendong immediately called Fang Xianming and asked, "Do you have any information about the big companies in South Korea?"
"South Korea? I haven't prepared anything specifically, but I do have some basic information." Fang Xianming immediately replied: "If you need detailed information, give me two days and I can prepare it."
"Okay, then give it to me in two days." Yang Wendong nodded;
South Korea still has a long time for development in the future, and he doesn't care about these two days.
Two days later, Fang Xianming came to Yang Wendong's office with a document. Yang Wendong also read it carefully and asked after a while: "Which of these do you think we can invest in?"
"Mr. Yang, you are also aware of the current situation in South Korea. These large enterprises are closely tied to the government, and their main business is related to national security and economy. It is difficult for foreign capital to participate." Fang Xianming replied very tactfully;
The boss asked him to look up information, so he naturally understood that he wanted to invest, so he was prepared to be questioned.
Yang Wendong said: "I know this, but what if I don't choose steel, heavy industry, or chemical industry?"
South Korea’s “Han River Miracle” is essentially the result of a powerful government’s control, just like Taiwan in recent years, where the government invests in heavy industry or guides large capital to invest in heavy industry;
Heavy industry has a low rate of return, and most capital is reluctant to participate. Even Yang Wendong, a time traveler who has an understanding of the future, is reluctant to enter because the investment is too high. Only the national level does not care about gains and losses.
Facts have also proved that it is precisely because of the selfless investment at the national level that there will be future economic take-off. This is true for Japan and South Korea, and will be the same for the mainland in the future.
Although the country was very poor throughout the 50s, 70s, it had laid a solid foundation in heavy industry, basic education, water conservancy and agriculture. This led to the 40 years of economic boom after the reform and opening up. Otherwise, it would be like Vietnam, where even if the economy developed rapidly in the short term, its core industries such as electricity, steel and oil refining were all controlled by overseas countries, and the country would collapse if they were strangled.
Fang Xianming said: "If you are not a big chaebol or a heavy industry, other light industries still have opportunities, and real estate should also work, but the scale cannot be large."
"Forget about real estate. I don't care about it." Yang Wendong waved his hand and said, "I want to invest in a large chaebol, but in a non-heavy industry business under it, Samsung Electronics under the Samsung Group."
"Samsung Electronics?" Fang Xianming obviously knew about it, so he said, "Mr. Yang, Samsung Electronics is a small business under the Samsung Group, mainly producing black-and-white TVs and ordinary refrigerators and washing machines, which is somewhat similar to our Honor home appliance business;
In terms of scale, Samsung Electronics' TVs are very popular in South Korea, and many are exported to Southeast Asia and other regions, but they are very low-end, so there is not much competition with Honor."
Ten years ago, Honor also focused on low-end products such as black-and-white TVs, but with the cooperation with RCA and the advancement of its own technology, it has gradually upgraded and now focuses on high-end black-and-white TVs and ordinary color TVs;
Even if it weren't for a certain cooperation agreement with RCA, it might have been possible to enter the field of high-end color TVs. However, it is also difficult to succeed in this market. Even the Japanese can hardly do it, so Honor did not force it. Currently, its main focus is still arcades and games.
Yang Wendong took another look at the information and nodded, "Yes, this is what I want to invest in. Send someone to South Korea to communicate with Samsung Electronics."
"That's no problem." Fang Xianming paused, and then said, "Mr. Yang, Samsung Group is also a large group in South Korea, similar to our Changxing Group in Hong Kong. If I want to invest in this way, it is unlikely that they will agree directly."
Yang Wendong also thought it made sense, so he asked, "Then what do you want to do?"
Fang Xianming said: "Our group has certain home appliance channels in Asia and the United States. Samsung Electronics must have a high demand in this area, so I think it would be more appropriate to use this as bait to guide them."
"You are quite smart." Yang Wendong smiled and said, "Okay, if Samsung Electronics can accept my investment, my channels in the United States and Asia can be opened to them."
Even if there is a little competition, it doesn’t matter. The home appliance market is too big and both of them are just small players.
The future Korean electronics giants are deliberately supported by the United States to deal with Japanese electronics companies, so their rise is almost inevitable. If I invest a little now, I will definitely get high returns.
Moreover, in terms of supply chain building, we may not be able to compete with Samsung, and we may still need to rely on Samsung in the future.
PS: Please give me a monthly ticket
(End of this chapter)