Chapter 499: Unable to Stop
Although the acquisition of Paramount by Shirakawa Group caused some concern among the US media.
But in any case, the name "Shirakawa" has indeed become more internationally renowned in North America.
Wasserstein's party was just a representative one, and after that, Shirakawa Kaede actively carried out activities in North America.
For example, Shirakawa Paramount announced a series of film distribution or production plans, SIC's listing process was initiated, and so on.
All these caused Shirakawa Feng's name to appear frequently in major media newspapers, and he received more and more banquet invitations.
Sure enough, Hollywood is a good entry point. As his social connections deepen, the financial community now invites him to attend various events more and more frequently.
What Baichuan Feng did not expect was that he actually received an invitation to a ceremony at the White House at the end of the month.
This was a byproduct he had never thought of. It seemed that SIC and Shirakawa Electric's actions to start the localization and listing process in North America had also been recognized by politicians.
After this incident, Shirakawa Feng also began to make some policy adjustments for Shirakawa Electric's branch in North America.
For example, increasing investment in the North American Research Center, and also allowing Howard to begin trying to recruit graduates from MIT and Harvard.
In the past, the Shirakawa Electric branch had never won the favor of these prestigious university students, but since the support of Paramount, everything seemed to be starting to loosen up.
It has to be said that after possessing the "American soul", many things have changed imperceptibly.
The news that Shirakawa Kaede bought Paramount naturally caused a stir in Japan.
Unlike many critics' doubts, the public simply thinks that it is worthy of the Shirakawa Zaibatsu.
Being able to pay $9 billion in one go to buy a major Hollywood company is a remarkable achievement.
One of the seven major film studios in Hollywood, now it has become a Japanese company.
Look, this is so encouraging!
However, the one who was most capable of causing trouble was Toratarou. He was the first to get the news and immediately sent his previously treasured photos to the Mainichi Shimbun.
So when major newspapers reported this news, the picture accompanying the daily news became the moment when Shirakawa Kaede swung his club at the Kazuo Golf Course.
Aren’t the words $9 billion coupled with the golden golf club very eye-catching?
Just as the public was amazed at this eye-catching golf club, coincidentally, the covers of several major magazines in Japan were replaced with similar photos.
Contrary to the news report which did not mention this club at all, the magazine spent a lot of space introducing the origin of this club.
Exquisite workmanship, tungsten alloy, natural African diamonds, pure gold club heads, etc., the more high-end it is, the better.
The richest man himself is promoting the products, although he is the former richest man (this title was taken by Yoshiaki Tsutsumi this year).
But his appeal is unquestionable , especially with the news of the $9 billion acquisition of Paramount, he is definitely a top star.
So after Hakushika Trading Company announced that it would accept pre-orders, all 650 sets of golf clubs worth 100 million yen were sold out in just three days.
This is 100 million yen, not 1 million or 10 million.
Such astronomically expensive golf clubs were sold out in just three days. The arrogance of the Japanese really surprised Shirakawa Kaede and Kotaro.
Baichuan Feng gave a bitter smile when he received the news. With such a high profit margin of nearly 80%, how could the real economy compare to it?
The net profit of 52 billion yen is equivalent to 400 million US dollars, and this is just from one set of golf clubs.
If nothing unexpected happens, the profit of Lujiao Resort will once again exceed that of Shirakawa Electric this year.
Yes, since last year, thanks to the skiing pandemic.
The surging flow of people at Lujiao brought over 1.5 billion US dollars in profits to Shirakawa Holdings, making it the most profitable company under Shirakawa Holdings.
Judging from the current trend, this number may be surpassed this year.
Tsk, when he first invested in Lujiao, Baichuan Feng himself didn't expect this day to come.
However, while the tourism industry's revenue has seen a surge, the corresponding profits of the physical manufacturing industry have been declining compared with the same period.
Judging from the financial report of Shirakawa Holdings as a whole, the group's annual profit has basically remained at around US$3 billion since 1985.
However, although the company made nearly 10 billion US dollars in profit over the years, Paramount ate up all the profits.
After counting his own small treasury, it was still around 40 billion US dollars.
If things go as expected, the next few years will be a time for spending most of the time.
However, in order to ensure that there are no problems with its own capital chain, a bottom line of US$10 billion needs to be kept as a backup.
Seeing all the money I earned being lost bit by bit, it seems not worth it when I think about it carefully.
After all, everything the chaebols do is for wealth, and to accumulate hundreds of billions of dollars is the result of many families' hard work over many years.
Although this is the truth, we need to consider the problem from a different angle.
If the money just sits in the account, it will actually depreciate over time.
Inflation, exchange rate changes, etc. can make cash less valuable.
Even though hundreds of billions of dollars have been spent, Baichuan Feng's assets have not actually decreased.
On the contrary, it is continuing to expand and appreciate, because the money spent is converted into another form of assets of Shirakawa Holdings.
The more than 20 billion US dollars of shares in international investment banks can be sold to other capital for withdrawal at any time later.
However, in a few years these shares will be worth more than 20 billion. With the development of Southeast Asia, appreciation is inevitable.
In addition to these investments, they can also recover additional loan interest for Shirakawa Holdings.
After that, nearly $20 billion was invested half in Subaru and the other half in Hollywood film companies such as Paramount and Marvel.
Perhaps there is no possibility of recovering costs in the short term, but they are all high-quality assets for long-term investment.
Even now, Subaru is already making money. If this trend continues, its market value will surely continue to grow.
If the market value increases, then won’t the assets of Baichuan Holdings also increase? And this does not include the annual profit dividends.
The same goes for Paramount, although Shirakawa Kaede's ultimate goal in joining Hollywood is not to make money in the film industry.
What he wants to do is to integrate into the United States and build a first-class international brand image for Shirakawa Electric.
But if he can make money from movies, then of course he won't refuse.
If the IPs in Paramount's hands are managed well, the profits can actually be very considerable.
The most typical examples are the "Transformers" and "Mission Impossible" series, whose money-making ability has been proven.
Now considering the charm of the Marvel Universe, the future of Shirakawa-Paramount is actually very promising.
And unlike China's weird stock market, the U.S. and Neon stock markets actually pay dividends, and most of them are paid in cash.
Especially in North America, its stock market is very mature. According to convention, dividends are paid every quarter.
In general, 50%-70% of the profits earned by listed companies are used for cash dividends.
Moreover, the dividend distribution method for U.S. stocks is only in cash, and there is no dividend distribution method in the form of bonus shares.
Isn’t this too different from the Chinese stock market where some companies have not paid dividends for ten years after listing?
The so-called non-dividend distribution of listed companies is just a characteristic of China.
The essence of stocks is that investors invest in listed companies and ultimately share the dividends of the company's profits.
Listed companies use shareholders' money to expand reproduction and share the profits with shareholders, creating a win-win situation.
Although there are also capital operations in the U.S. stock market that pull the plug, most investors can actually make money.
This is also one of the reasons why Americans have low savings, as most of their assets are in the stock market.
Because the stock market in the United States is a medium- to long-term investment, it provides real cash returns.
If the common people who are the losers can get a share of the money, then there will certainly be no problem for a controlling party like Shirakawa Holdings.
Therefore, as long as Subaru and Paramount make money, Shirakawa Holdings will continue to reap profits.
This is the purpose and essence of investing.
Otherwise, who would be willing to spend a lot of money only to see no returns for several years or even decades?
In the world of capital, although cash is important, assets are the ultimate manifestation of your wealth.
Even if you exchange cash for high-quality assets, your ability to resist risks will become stronger.
While Shirakawa Kaede was actively participating in various interpersonal activities in North America, the first Bank of Japan interest rate hike, which had been brewing for a long time in Japan, was finally implemented.
At the end of May, the Bank of Japan officially announced that the bank interest rate would be raised from the previous 2.5% to 3.25%, and the interbank lending rate would also be raised.
The measure aims to tighten the previously overly loose financial policies and begin to restrict the flow of funds to the stock market and real estate industry.
However, this move by the Bank of Japan did not cause any ripples in the stock market and the property market, not even a fluctuation.
The stock market and property market are still soaring, and the consumer price index remains high.
The reason for all this is closely related to the current frenzied investment atmosphere.
This small change in interest rates has little impact on speculators.
Although deposit rates and loan rates rise at the same time, this encourages people to deposit money while increasing loan interest rates.
But this little bit of income and loan interest is nothing compared to the appreciation rate of stocks and real estate.
To put it in an analogy, it's like manufacturing a product.
Although the prices of raw materials and workers' wages have increased, the sales prices of goods have increased even more, and there is still a shortage of supply.
So when faced with such a scenario, I would like to ask you, the manufacturer, should you continue to do this business?
Do it, of course! If you don't make money, you're a bastard~!
We are not fools. As long as the market with supply exceeding demand is still there and as long as the profits are still there, there is no reason not to continue the business.
This is the true portrayal of Japan's stock market and real estate industry at this time. The Bank of Japan's interest rate hike has not achieved the expected results.
The slogan that the stock market will not fall and land prices have been rising has been shouted for so many years. How can it be shaken by a small interest rate hike?
The carnival continues, and the golden age is far from over.
Then play music and then dance~!
The Bank of Japan, which had adjusted its policy once, was also stunned by this scene.
Not only has this bubble not slowed down, why does it feel like it's getting bigger and bigger?
