When Chen Qing received the news from Girl A, the winter time on the east coast of North America, which is 13 hours later than that of China, was still the night of Friday, June 27, the day before, and Simon happened to be attending a meeting on the Upper East Side of Manhattan. A gathering of financial circles.
Celebrating Thailand’s first victory.
Soros was standing opposite Simon with a glass of champagne.
After Girl A finished talking in her ear, Simon did not hide anything when facing Soros's inquiring gaze, and said directly: "News from China, about Hong Kong."
Thoros immediately raised his eyebrows.
It is well known that Simon has a good relationship with China. The Thai government just raised the white flag during the day today, and the handover ceremony will be held on July 1. At this juncture, China is trying to contact Simon, or it is about Hong Kong. You don’t have to think about it. for what.
Seeing that Soros's expression quickly turned into a smile without saying a word, Simon continued: "George, just clear out the position against Hong Kong recently, as if I owe you a favor, and if you want this favor to become bigger, Some, when the time is right, I can say a few words publicly.”
Simon was so direct again, and Soros had to calm down his expression.
In fact, as the major financier of the US$3 billion invested in the Quantum Fund through the Westeros system, Soros could only compromise even if Simon gave direct orders at this time. In the final analysis, Soros is just a fund manager who manages money for others. He may be able to show a strong posture without interference in front of other investors, but he does not have such confidence for the young tycoon in front of him.
Now, Simon takes the initiative to offer a favor, and Soros is even less likely to appreciate it.
However, Soros did not agree immediately, but said: "Simon, you know, Washington, they hope this time they can teach Hong Kong, or to be precise, Beijing a lesson."
Soros's financial operations would have been impossible to succeed without the acquiescence of the Washington authorities.
Just like Britain in 1992, this is a die-hard ally.
If other Wall Street capital dares to attack the British currency without any communication with Washington, it is not impossible to arrest them directly in order to safeguard the interests of allies.
Soros's actions this time are also in line with the overall interests of the federation.
Simon shook his head when he heard this: "George, those guys in Washington don't understand, do you think I don't understand either? This time we just made a quick buck from our operation in Southeast Asia. In the long run, we will benefit the most." Yes, it happens to be China."
The Asian Financial Crisis in 1997, the once prosperous Asian Tigers and the Four Asian Tigers all suffered heavy losses, and some of them did not recover until many years later. After these economies were destroyed, Western countries urgently needed a replacement. This benefit , happened to fall on China.
Of course Soros also understood this truth, but when he heard this, he said: "That is indeed the case, Simon, I just don't understand, why can you know so many things?"
Saying this, Soros couldn't help but think of that time in 1987.
In public memory, Soros's moment of fame was his attack on the pound in 1992, and his highlight moment was in 1997. However, for Soros himself, the failure during the 1987 stock market crash was the most unforgettable. At that time, the scale of Quantum Fund was less than 3 billion US dollars, and it lost 800 million in one battle.
Speaking of which, due to the zero-sum game nature of stock index futures, it is impossible to say that a large part of the $800 million in losses was earned by the young people in front of me.
Then, there was the rapid rise of the Westeros system.
Even if the decline of Nasdaq continues, Simon's personal net worth has remained above US$1 trillion recently, and Soros himself, even if everything goes well in this battle against Southeast Asia, will get the harvest next. Even with a 20% commission on profits, it would be difficult for his personal net worth to reach US$10 billion.
There is no comparison between people... there is no comparison at all.
Simon had heard so many similar inquiries over the years, and he practiced Tai Chi skillfully: "Well, it is said that the mental hospital in Watsonville in the south of the Bay Area has been converted into a nursing home, and the fees are very high. I was indeed there. Epiphany, George, if you’re really curious, you can try living there for a while.”
Soros had no expectations for the answer. At this time, he just smiled and said: "Simon, I can promise you, but I am actually at a loss. The favor you owe me is not as good as what a country like China owes you." A favor, right?"
"Maybe so," Simon shrugged slightly: "The problem is, George, China's favors are very big. I can accept them, but you may not be able to accept them. Favors that cannot be accepted may be of no use. And my favors are of no use to me. It’s just right for you.”
Simon once again said a fact that Soros didn't really want to admit. The old man had no choice but to say: "Okay, then that's it."
Simon added: "What else, about making the favor bigger?"
Soros looked at Simon: "Well, Simon, wouldn't it be more useful for you to speak out publicly yourself?"
"George, teach you an interesting idiom from China."
Soros didn't want to learn, so he could only respond: "Huh?"
"It probably means, how can you kill a chicken with a bull's-eye knife?"
“…”
"Actually, there is one more thing," Simon continued without any intention of changing the subject: "As for South Korea, since you want to give up the layout for Hong Kong, then put the extra chips on South Korea. The more, the better. good."
These are actually things Simon has been considering for a long time.
Regarding Hong Kong, Simon's initial plan was that if no one thought of him, he would just be a bystander and let Soros make trouble. If someone says hello, send a big favor along the way.
Then, there is South Korea.
In Hong Kong, Soros had not benefited much, so it was better to put more chips in South Korea.
Although South Korea was the last country to be attacked in Asia, the damage suffered by South Korea's economy was not much less than that of other hard-hit countries. On the other hand, a major advantage of attacking the currencies of Southeast Asian countries is that it will facilitate subsequent speculative capital to buy the assets of various countries. Simon is not interested in the assets of Thailand, Malaysia, Indonesia and other countries at all, and his target is only South Korea.
When Soros heard this, he didn't hesitate. He nodded and tried again: "Simon, is this a second favor?" "
"Of course not, this is just a suggestion. If you don't want to, just pretend I didn't say it."
Of course, Soros can't pretend that he didn't hear what Simon said.
On the contrary, it is taken seriously.
What comes to mind again is the time in 1987, and at this time, since Simon Westeros is talking about South Korea, there is definitely a lot to be done to bet on this aspect.
The matter was settled, but Simon was not in a hurry to notify China and continued to socialize at the party.
After all, this kind of thing is like picking a lock.
I often saw similar news in my previous life. Some people forgot their keys and called a locksmith to negotiate a price. As a result, the master arrived and opened the lock in a few dozen seconds. The employer immediately felt that the price was too high. You would pay 100 in a few dozen seconds. Yuan, too dark, right? !
Therefore, Simon did not respond for several days until the weekend passed and the new week arrived.
On Tuesday, July 1st, there was a lively Hong Kong handover ceremony. On the same day, there was also the premiere of "Independence Day" in Hollywood.
On the other hand, Thailand, which started the new week with a weekend buffer for itself, has not reached any agreement with the International Monetary Fund, which is negotiating relief.
So, in the new week, the storm continues.
The Thai baht has continued to fall sharply for several days in a row, affecting the entire Southeast Asia, including the Philippines, Malaysia, Indonesia, Singapore and other countries. While their currencies have depreciated, the stock and bond markets have also plummeted.
The Hong Kong stock market was not immune and continued to fall for a week in a row.
During this period, Chen Qing apparently contacted Simon several times at the urging of some people. It was not until Saturday, July 5th that Simon gave a positive reply. Not only that, but he also simply arranged a connection to let him go to Asia in the near future. Soros stopped by Hong Kong to arrange a high-level secret meeting.
Simon acted like a good friend from beginning to end and made no demands.
After all, the free ones are the most expensive.
For such a big favor, if you don't ask for any benefits, you will only get more unknowingly.
While Southeast Asia is experiencing a storm, North America, which has been affected but has not yet reached its worst moment, is undoubtedly one of the hot spots of recent public attention, Roland Emmerich's latest science fiction masterpiece "Days of Independence," which will be released on July 4th.
Because Daenerys Entertainment's most recent film, "American Pie," was also released two weeks ago, Simon did not deliberately suppress it even though he was well aware of the power of "One Day."
With a production budget of 90 million U.S. dollars, MGM’s publicity expenditure also reached 50 million U.S. dollars. Of course, this is slightly less than the 50 million U.S. dollars Daenerys Entertainment previously offered for “Face and Twister”. After all, It's a cooperative film, and it wouldn't be Hollywood if it didn't mix up the various expenses and make more money.
However, even if the water is squeezed out, the actual publicity expenditure is more than 40 million US dollars.
The film's opening screen count has also reached 3,382.
Relying on excellent reputation and explosive special effects, "Days of Independence" earned a box office of US$19.36 million on its first day of filming, which was even better than the previous "Tornado".
Three days after opening, even though there were three other important commercial films released during the same period due to the Independence Day holiday, the box office of "Independence Day" still reached 61.73 million US dollars in the first weekend. Then, in the first full week, "Independence Day" seven days The box office eventually reached 91.07 million US dollars, becoming the last movie to open in 1997.
With this kind of start, coupled with the film's comprehensive media score of 8.7, there is basically no suspense about the local US$300 million.
The original collaborative project, the first "Alien", was a hit during the Easter period and has already made many people jealous. Now, "Days of Independence" has become a phenomenal hit, causing many capitals to start to inquire about Daenerys. Does the entertainment side intend to develop a second batch of cooperation projects
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On the other hand, even if due to the success of "Day of Independence", the total North American box office of Day of Independence reached a high of 230 million US dollars, the strength of this super blockbuster will inevitably have a negative impact on several previously released films of Daenerys Entertainment. had an impact.
There is no big objection within Daenerys Entertainment. Instead, some media who are afraid of chaos in the world will not stop, making all kinds of ridicule and inciting that Simon is giving away a super blockbuster with a global estimated value of 600 million. other people.
What a prodigal.
Simon just turned a deaf ear to this.
It's still the same truth.
Over the years, if it weren't for Daenerys Entertainment's very active attitude towards foreign cooperation, it would be difficult to say whether this company would be able to break through the monopoly of traditional Hollywood studios and successfully rise to the top.
Many times, it is necessary to sacrifice some local interests for the sake of the overall situation.
Just like this time, after the explosion of "Independence Day", Simon did have plans to launch the second phase of the cooperation plan.
Compared with the first attempt, the goals this time will be clearer, mainly targeting those capitals that have the intention or potential to enter Hollywood. In addition, the scale of financing this time will be larger to further absorb funds and cut off potential competitors. The possibility of a meteoric rise in Hollywood.
Attention turns to China.
In terms of brocade books.
One month after it started airing, through Simon's personal participation in programming and sparing no effort in early promotion, the provincial ratings of Jiangsu Satellite TV's "Super Girl" have reached over 70%, and its popularity across the country is also growing.
Simon was initially a little confused about Supergirl's ratings.
The once-phenomenal "Huan Zhu Ge Ge" seemed to have the highest ratings of 63% when it first aired in mainland China in 1998. "Super Girl" has reached over 70%. Isn't it even more ruthless
Afterwards, I searched for the information in my memory and combined it with the current situation of the TV industry in China, and I came to understand it.
At this time, the ratings statistics in China are still very irregular. The ratings statistics of "Super Girl" are only done by local agencies in Jiangsu. In addition, because of the popularity, it is inevitable that it will be slightly watered down. In any case, according to Jinshu's own market research, the ratings of "Super Girl" in Jiangsu Province are indeed very high. Even if there is water content above 70%, it will not be too much.
Secondly, compared with the previous "Huan Zhu Ge Ge", another thing is that at this stage, not all provincial TV stations in China have logged on to satellites. This matter will not be fully rolled out until this year and next year.
As for "Huan Zhu Princess", specifically after all provincial TV stations in China were launched on the star, multiple provincial stations simulcast it, and a single TV station created a super high ratings of 63%.
It's truly phenomenal.
As for the exaggerated ratings records in some press releases, they cannot stand up to scrutiny.
If we talk about ratings miracles, let's not talk about "Journey to the West" which is too far away, but only "Desire" in 1990. The public promotion has created more than 90% of the ratings. If we only compare according to these public data, "Desire" is a miracle. .
In the final analysis, the landscape of China's TV market is changing rapidly. Once there was no doubt about the success of "Huan Zhu Ge Ge", now there is no doubt about the success of "Super Girl".
As for Simon, he was inspired to ask Chen Qing to help facilitate the establishment of a professional joint venture ratings survey agency in China in advance.
The most important thing is that this time the Westeros system will have a slight stake.
After all, China’s ratings research agency used to be a miracle.
Simon specifically inquired and found out that the market research giant Soffre Group, which has expanded rapidly in recent years, had revenue of only US$120 million in the past year. This was earned through diligently conducting various data analysis and market research in more than ten countries around the world. As for some of China's domestic ratings survey giants later, they were able to sell the ratings business for several billion yuan a year.
This is a business wizard.
Other people's data is sold to business owners, TV stations, and advertisers, and it takes a lot of hard work to make some hard-earned money. We get it right in one step, skip all the messy steps, and sell it directly to TV series producers.
How nice.
As for the poor in the industry like Enlight Media, no matter how old it is, if it can’t afford ratings, then get out of the TV market.
Simon's pursuit of equity participation is still a first move, and he does not expect to make any money from it.
The water is too deep.
I just hope that in the future, Jinshu’s own works will not have to spend money to buy ratings, or that they can be given a preferential price. Simon has always been happy to do as the Romans do. After all, the more operable it is, the better it will be for giants like Jinshu Media.