National Tide 1980.

When bad luck comes, you can’t stop it; when disaster strikes, you can’t avoid it.

After Black Monday, not only developed countries and regions such as the United States, Europe, and Japan suffered losses, but the Sugar King Family, which was based in Southeast Asia, also suffered heavy losses in its industries.

You should know that in addition to sugar, grain and oil, hotel business, and real estate, the entire Guo family is also involved in shipping and beverage industries.

To put it bluntly, they are a big elephant, and all the industries are asset-heavy.

Moreover, it is currently the expansion period for various businesses, and the demand for funds is greater than ever.

At such a critical moment, it is easy to imagine how much damage a sudden financial disaster would cause them.

Not only did it directly lead to the dilemma of funding shortage for the projects they were steadily advancing, but many subsidiaries and grandson companies were suddenly caught in danger due to the risk of default and financial difficulties. They were forced to drastically stop or reduce their already planned investments and overturn their already planned development plans.

And it will inevitably hurt their foundation.

Because even if you take drastic measures, it will still require a lot of money to maintain the existing market.

At the very least, the Guo Group's financial department will have to deal with the risk of default and the risk of bonds being redeemed once they mature.

Moreover, the Guo Group owns a large amount of fixed assets and long-term investments, and the stock market crash will cause the value of these assets to shrink significantly.

In particular, the Guo family has listed companies in Malaysia, Singapore and Hong Kong.

As the market fell, these companies were sold off by investors and their share prices became dire.

It is inevitable to re-evaluate the value of its assets and adjust its financial strategies to cope with the financial pressure caused by asset depreciation.

Most importantly, the financing channels they had originally placed great hopes on, such as issuing bonds and expanding shares in the capital market, have been completely blocked.

In the short term, the Guo Group had to urgently halt all plans and forget about making money from the market.

It has to be said that one small move affects the entire body. There are also disadvantages to having a company that is too big, and that is that it is difficult to turn around.

Under this sudden financial disaster, the Guo Group will have to bear losses that are simply incalculable. It would be considered good if the group's overall business just stagnated and did not experience a huge decline.

Therefore, the Kuok Group headquarters in Singapore is now in a state of chaos, with phone calls, fax machines, and a lot of noise, and it is extremely busy.

In a conference room at the headquarters, several Guo brothers, led by "Sugar King" Guo Henian, have been meeting here almost every two or three days since the stock market crash.

To inform each other of changes in the business for which they are responsible and to discuss together how to respond to the deteriorating external financial environment.

November 11th is such a day.

The lights in the conference room were bright, but as the president's secretary read out the financial data, the room was filled with a solemn and depressing atmosphere.

There was tea and coffee on the table, but no one seemed to pick them up to drink.

Smoking is prohibited here. Even Guo Heju, the eldest son of the Guo family and the biggest smoker, can only resist the urge to smoke and subconsciously smokes with a matchbox turned upside down in his hand.

Obviously, this is a meeting that everyone in the Guo Group needs to take seriously, and no one dares to be careless about the current crisis.

"Okay, everyone, this is the situation we need to face now."

After the secretary finished reading out all the economic data, it was the group chairman Guo Henian who broke the silence first.

"Now, as everyone knows, there is no hope in the financial market. There are almost no stocks rising in the current stock market. The extreme sluggishness of the market has led to a rapid reduction in financing channels. Under such circumstances, the resources we have are no longer sufficient to support us to maintain the current situation. Whether it is banks in Malaysia, Singapore, or Hong Kong City, the conditions given to our financing needs are very harsh, and the amount does not meet our expectations. So there is no way. I am afraid we have to further reduce the current scale of operations. We can only keep the important business first. Do you have any specific opinions on this?"

"Everyone knows the current situation. It's just that the shipping business I'm in charge of has just started to make some progress. If the monetary tightening starts with the shipping business I'm in charge of, then I will have to withdraw the order for the ship. For at least the next five years, we can only rely on the opinions of the Bao family in Gangcheng."

Kuok Ho-yao, who was in charge of shipping, was the first to respond that he was not Kuok's biological brother, but a cousin and the fifth child.

"I said, if my funds are reduced, I have no objection, but if the Bao family blocks our shipping business in the future, you can't blame me."

After saying that, he looked at the chairman Guo Henian and acted like a bachelor, as if he would do whatever the gentleman said.

But in fact, it was just a step back to advance, and he didn't want to cut his budget.

What he didn't expect was that even though Guo Henian didn't say anything, someone else had already come to compete with him for resources.

"Business is bad right now, and it's difficult for everyone. Fifth brother, don't keep complaining about your own problems. It's not easy for me, my brother. Can I just give up my real estate business? If it becomes an unfinished building, how much money will we have to pay? We all have to do the same. Brothers, we are in the same boat, we share the good and the bad. If we need to reduce, we all have to reduce, we can't favor one over the other."

Guo Heming, who is in charge of housing construction, said that he is also Guo Henian's cousin, the youngest, twenty-one.

As soon as he finished speaking, Guo Henian frowned. It is very difficult to balance the funding issue at the moment.

Both cousins ​​were giving him problems.

Fortunately, he still has brothers. Guo Henian's younger brother Guo Heling, who is in charge of the hotel business, saw that his cousins ​​were so strong, so he took the initiative to step forward and became the first person to "give up his own skills" and share his worries.

"As for hotels, I think we can postpone expansion. For example, in mainland China, except for the major cities of Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou and Shenzhen, I think we can suspend expansion plans in other regions. This way, we can save a lot of money. At least 200 to 300 million US dollars. In addition, the current operating conditions of the hotel are good, and 170 million Hong Kong dollars should be able to be taken out."

Guo Henian's eldest brother added, "As for the beverage company, you can also suspend capital investment. And now in Hong Kong, the beverage company's profits have increased a lot. I think we can take some blood to replenish other industries. Including temporarily delaying the payment of suppliers, I think it is okay to withdraw 200 to 300 million Hong Kong dollars. And the international trade department that I am in charge of, if we think of a way, we can probably come up with 130 million US dollars of funds to help everyone temporarily solve the financial difficulties."

These suggestions were immediately supported by everyone, but Guo Henian felt even more unhappy.

It's like this every time. These cousins ​​always take advantage and never suffer any loss, all thanks to the help of their brothers.

However, whenever he showed some concern for his brothers, his cousins ​​would complain behind their backs, accusing him of being unfair and biased.

In addition, the businesses involved by the Guo Group have become increasingly complex this year.

He knew clearly in his heart that if things continued like this, it would not work. These selfish cousins ​​would sooner or later become stumbling blocks to the group company because of their own interests.

In fact, he had already decided to get through this hurdle and make business cuts with several of his cousins.

But then again, there was still one cousin who did not disappoint him.

That is Guo Helin, who is ranked twelfth and is in charge of the grain and oil business. He is not only capable but also has a broad vision.

Even his son Kenneth Ko is very outstanding and has always been the person Kenneth Ko values ​​most among the next generation.

It seems that Guo Helin also felt that his cousins ​​were not doing a good job, so he came to share the group's worries. "The grain and oil I am in charge of is the bulk of the funds. Recently, due to the increase in the number of instant noodle companies, the demand for palm oil is not small. We have a lot of inventory on hand. I want to think of a way to sell some while the price is good to cash in, and also solve some urgent problems with due bills. However, the hotel that He Ling is in charge of needs to restore its reputation. I mean that in addition to temporarily stopping the expansion plan, don't rush to draw blood. After all, something indecent happened some time ago, and we have to increase some investment in publicity and promotional activities, and hurry up to restore the image. Otherwise, the image of the hotel will fall into the lower level, and the guests will form a fixed impression. We can't think of retaining high-end customers, and the hotel will have no future..."

This suggestion was certainly in line with Guo Henian's wishes, and he nodded with satisfaction and turned to his younger brother.

"He Ling, what Brother Twelve said makes sense. Our hotel business is an important part of the future development of the Guo Group, and we must not let this kind of thing ruin it. There is no need to transfer funds to your hotel for the time being. You should focus on the upcoming Christmas and New Year, and make good use of the holidays to make a comeback. It must be lively and gorgeous to reshape the image of our hotel. Oh, by the way, my two bastard sons, as an uncle, don't let them be idle all day. Since the hotel was disturbed because of them, let them atone for their sins with practical actions. I will give you the power, and you can teach them a lesson for me. Don't care about my face, and don't care about their hard work. I said, if they don't do well this time, they will only be fit to go to the sugarcane plantation to serve our Guo family's sugar industry in the future..."

There was a certain humor in Guo Henian's words at the end.

Of course, they had to laugh at the jokes made by the head of the group company, so the Guo brothers all laughed.

At this point, the atmosphere in the meeting finally became somewhat relaxed.

But it was just such an unfortunate coincidence that there was a knock on the door of the conference room at this moment. It was Guo Heling's female secretary who came in and said she had something urgent to discuss with him.

Then, a sudden piece of bad news came from the mouth of the female secretary, and the atmosphere in the meeting room became cold again.

"Chairman, the French LVMH Group sent us a special letter through their regional agent, saying that from now on, all LVMH Group products sold in Shangri-La will be recalled, including LV clothing, handbags, scarves, shoes, Dior perfume, Moët & Chandon champagne, Dom Perignon champagne, and Hennessy wine. They said...they said that they will never cooperate with us again..."

"What? What did you say?"

"Is LVMH crazy? This is impossible!"

6◇9◇Book◇Bar

"That is to say, why would they do this? It doesn't make sense..."

"That's weird. Our Guo Group's hotels are the most reputable brands in Asia, and they're going to be listed in the future! Don't they want to make money?"

"Are you sure this is what LVMH Group meant? Is it not a prank?"

A single stone can cause a thousand ripples. This news made all the Guo brothers uneasy.

They even ignored the fact that the hotel was Guo Heling's business and started making noise and asking questions.

Because if it is true, it is almost equivalent to an insult to the Guo family.

Unexpectedly, although the female secretary hesitated, her answer was extremely certain.

"Yes... yes, that's what LVMH meant. I've confirmed that all the supply agents said the same thing. They said they were bound by the agency contract and they had no choice but to listen to the French..."

As a result, the faces of all the Guo family members darkened, especially Guo Heling himself, who quickly asked his secretary.

"What's the reason? Why do the French treat us like this?"

"He... they said that our hotel, for not very bright reasons, used all kinds of resources to prevent others from filming normally, and also hired Yakuza to harass other people's restaurants in Japan and disrupt other people's normal operations. This behavior is extremely shameful and they cannot agree with it. In addition, they also know about the things that happened in our hotel lobby. So they claimed that our hotel has become a synonym for vulgarity and dirtiness. They don't want their products to be related to our hotel, so as not to let their customers have bad associations and damage their corporate and product image. In particular, they also said that the people who were obstructed and harassed by us are important partners of the LVMH Group, so... so they can't accept it even more..."

The secretary was not very old and was a woman. She watched helplessly as everyone in the conference room's faces became increasingly stern because of her words. Her tongue began to stiffen and she gradually became unable to speak.

In fact, this is no wonder. Just now, several heads of the Guo family were still discussing how to restore the hotel's reputation by taking advantage of the double holidays at the end of the year.

As if things weren't bad enough, we received such news right away.

To be honest, if this matter were to leak out, especially to the media reporters, the reputation of the Guo Family Hotel would be truly ruined.

By then, no matter how much money we spend or what kind of activities we organize, it will be useless.

If nothing else, what is the reputation of LVMH and what is the reputation of their hotels.

If LVMH dislikes it, how can it have the nerve to call itself a high-end hotel?
That would be a joke among high-end customers.

Not to mention that the LVMH Group almost monopolizes all French champagnes.

It would be unacceptable for a five-star hotel to not have champagne. Just for this reason, no guests will choose their hotel to hold large-scale events.

So Guo Heling started wiping his sweat, his face turned a little pale, and he apologized to Guo Henian first.

"I didn't handle this properly. I will contact France immediately and make sure to explain the misunderstanding and make the French take back their decision. Please believe me, I will never let our hotel become a laughing stock."

However, although Guo Henian looked unhappy, he knew very well that this was not Guo Heling's responsibility. Moreover, things had come to this point, and even if he went to beg for mercy from the French, it might not be of any use.

He sighed and consoled sincerely, "It's not your fault. If there's anything to blame, it's that we underestimated each other. Don't worry, don't pay attention to the French for now. Let's figure out what's going on first before we decide on a countermeasure."

What he said is correct.

After all, who would have thought that a mainlander who opened a restaurant in Japan would have such a close connection with the LVMH Group and have these French people backing him up.

What kind of person is this that makes the French think he is more important than the Guo Group?

Needless to say, if you want to solve the problem thoroughly, you must first understand the situation thoroughly.

So he followed him regardless of his complexion which had somewhat regained some color.

Then he asked his cousin Guo Helin, "Twelfth brother, Kefeng is your son. Didn't he say a while ago that he would take care of the relationship in Beijing? How come this happened again? Can you help him call him and ask about the progress over there and whether he has a grasp of the other party's situation. If he feels overwhelmed, it's okay. I'll go there myself."

The words were spoken lightly, but they sounded different when they reached Guo Helin's ears.

His face changed, knowing that his "Sugar King" brother was somewhat resentful of his son's incompetence.

Needless to say, my son's future now depends on this matter.

This matter is of great importance. If it is not handled properly, the group’s hotels will be finished.

Although the trouble was caused by Guo Henian's two sons, they are the princes after all. Guo Henian will definitely vent his anger on them.

So when he agreed and made the call, he was actually nervous.

He thought to himself, my son, I hope you can be smarter and don't be perfunctory about this matter.

Otherwise, you'll be kicked out of the core of the group.

I, your father, can no longer protect you. (End of this chapter)